Parachuting In The Loop: Shaun Walters Arrested After Allegedly Jumping Off Downtown Building

Police: Man Parachuted Off 25-Story Downtown Building

When Shaun Walters fell in love with skydiving, he fell hard.

"I remember the first time I went skydiving - it was Feb. 9, 2005 in New Zealand," he told the Middle Tennessee State University newspaper, Sidelines, in 2009. "Literally, I sold my house, my car and gave up my job just so I could do this every day."

At that time, he was working for Adventure Skydiving Tennessee as an instructor. This past weekend, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, he was doing a little recreational skydiving of his own in downtown Chicago -- and he landed in some trouble with the law.

A police officer on patrol in the Loop heard a loud popping sound at around 2:40 a.m. Sunday morning, and when he looked up, he reportedly saw Walters drifting down from the skies in a parachute.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Walters had leapt from the 25-story skeleton of the uncompleted Waterview Tower and Shangri-La Hotel on Wacker Drive. The building, supposed to be 90 stories tall, was stalled after financing dried up in 2008.

Walters was arrested after trying to run from the scene, police said. He was charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct.

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