Naperville Amtrak Shooting Suspect To Have Psychiatric Evaluation: Judge

NAPERVILLE, IL — A 79-year-old retired federal law enforcement officer accused of shooting an Amtrak conductor at the train station near downtown Naperville will undergo a mental health evaluation after a DuPage County judge granted a motion filed by his attorneys. Edward Klein, a resident of an independent living center in West Allis, Wisconsin, is charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery after police say he shot 45-year-old conductor Michael Case as he stepped onto the platform on May 16.

Case, a Homewood resident and U.S. Navy veteran, was shot in the torso but was conscious and alert as he was taken to Edward Hospital following the shooting, police said. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Case and his wife pay for medical expenses including emergency surgery. A spokesman for Edward Hospital told the Chicago Tribune that Case's condition has been upgraded from critical to serious.

Assistant Public Defender Jennifer Maples this week told Judge Daniel Guerin that she and Klein's other attorneys have concerns about his fitness to stand trial, according to the Tribune. Guerin agreed Klein should undergo a mental evaluation. If found to be unfit, he would be sent to a mental health facility for treatment; criminal proceedings against him would proceed if and when a doctor determined him to be fit. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Naperville — or your town. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Klein, who was one of about 235 passengers aboard the Los Angeles to Chicago train, previously worked for the Federal Protective Service, a police division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

He's accused of reaching through a window to shoot Case as Case got off the train during a stop at the Fourth Street station in Naperville. He reportedly told police he was angry because he could not yet get off the train, saying, "I had built up all this anger and I blew him away."

• Outpouring For Wounded Train Conductor

Other passengers and train personnel detained Klein until police arrived. Last week, Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall lauded the "brave acts" of the passengers, saying it's possible they prevented Klein from inflicting further harm.

Klein remains in custody at the DuPage County Jail on $1.5 million bond. He is due back in court June 28.

Edward Klein/DuPage County Sheriff's Office