When all settled down, it was reported that 24 people have been injured and 6 are dead, after a shooter opened fire at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, a suburb in Illinois.
Police said that the suspect, described as a white male, approximately 18-20 years old, with longer black hair, a small build, and wearing a long blue T-shirt, is at large and believed to be still armed and dangerous.
A high powered rifle was secured at the scene of the crime by authorities. Police add that the gunman appeared to have attacked from a rooftop.
Hundreds of people were forced to run for their lives when gunfire erupted, leaving behind chairs, blankets, and even baby strollers.
Chris Covelli, spokesperson for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, said in a press briefing around 2 p.m. local time that the shooting began at 10:14 a.m., less than 15 minutes after the parade was scheduled to begin. The parade was approximately three-fourths of the way through at the time, he said.
5 people died on the scene, while another died after leaving for the hospital, Covelli said.
Anyone, including spectators and business owners, who might have video surveillance of the area before, after or during the shooting are being asked to turn their footage into police.
In addition, the Highland Park Police Department have set up a re-unification program at their main office.
The City of Highland Park posted about the incident on their Facebook page shortly after initial reports broke. “Police are responding to an incident in downtown Highland Park,” the city wrote. “All 4th of July events have been canceled. Please avoid downtown Highland Park. Take shelter if in downtown HP. More information will be shared as it becomes available.”
Police and firetrucks were already at the scene for the parade, the city said. Other emergency crews from all over Lake County responded to the scene with at least 10 ambulances requested. People are being told to avoid the city’s downtown area.
Immediately following the shooting in Highland Park, the Glenview, Illinois police announced the cancellation of their July 4 celebrations on Twitter. Glenview is approximately 10 minutes away from Highland Park by car.
“Due to local events and out of an abundance of caution, the Glenview Fourth of July Parade has been canceled,” the said. “There have been no incidents or direct threats to Glenview. Glenview Police are now working to clear the parade area. The fireworks show is still going on this evening.”
Other towns in surrounding areas have done the same, like Edmondson, Illinois, which also canceled their parade. They closed their beaches, too.
Witnesses at the parade describe the confusion and chaos following the shooting.
“At first I heard a pop, and I thought maybe it was a backfire from one of the vehicles that had passed already, or a firecracker,” parade-goer Miles Zaremski told CNN. “And then there were multiple pops and having been in the service a long time ago, it was not a handgun or a rifle, it was more an AR-15 or whatever. I’d say I hear maybe, I’m guessing, about 30 pops. And there was a pause between the first set of pops and the second set of pops. And then the crowd started rushing and stampeding. … It was just chaotic.”
“I saw blood on the sidewalk, I saw bodies that looked to be deceased. I even saw a young boy being coddled by his parents. It was sickening,” Zaremski added.
Covelli told reporters in a press conference that many attendees heroically jumped into action to help those injured. Those stories will be shared in the following days, he said.
Our community was terrorized in an act of violence that has shaken us to our core,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said in a statement. “On a day that we came together to celebrate community and freedom, we’re instead mourning the tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror that was brought upon us.”
It’s a chemistry world , with drugs, and gangs asking you to prove something before you can become a member of their gang, and away too many non American people in the USA anymore, and I think the crooks are the only ones in Chicago carrying guns besides the law.