At least 6 individuals were killed in a July 4th parade shooting in Highland Park Illinois.
According to the officials, a shooting that occurred at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, resulted in the deaths of at least six persons. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office tweeted that the suspect was a Caucasian guy between the ages of 18 and 20 with long black hair and a tiny physique. The message also characterized the suspect as having a petite build. He was dressed in a T-shirt that was either white or blue. Law enforcement officers, together with their federal allies, are still actively scouring the area for the suspect.
An official from the law enforcement agency stated that it seemed as though the culprit was firing from a rooftop, and that a rifle was found at the scene of the crime. Chris O’Neill, the commander of the Highland Park Police Department, stated in a press conference that took place on Monday afternoon that the event began around 10:14 a.m. local time.
According to O’Neill, at least 24 persons have been sent to various hospitals in the area. It is not known whether or not the six people who passed away while being transported are included in the total number of people. Earlier, WBEZ, a member station of NPR, reported that the “overwhelming majority” of those being treated for injuries are suffering from gunshot wounds. Others “suffered injuries as a result of the subsequent turmoil at the procession,” as the article puts it.
The Associated Press was informed by witnesses in the vicinity that they observed bleeding bodies that were covered with blankets. A video taken by the Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, Lynn Sweet, who was there at the march and witnessed the commotion that followed the outbreak of shooting, can be viewed below.
Several people who were attending the march mentioned that there was great bewilderment when the first bullets were fired. According to WBEZ, one individual assumed that the explosions were from a car that was backfiring, while another person stated that they suspected that it was the sound of blank bullets being shot by the Navy’s marchers. When the gunfire stopped, the father of one of the children stated he fled away from the scene with his child and tried to break into a nearby building.
“I’m going to presume that he was loading more. So I continued to run and eventually made it into an alley, where I hid my baby inside a trash so that he would be safe “he stated. A call to prayer was issued by the governor of Illinois, J. B. Pritzker, in response to “the evil unleashed this morning.” However, the governor stressed that prayers alone will not solve the issue of gun violence in the country.
“There are no words that can adequately describe the sort of monster who waits in ambush and opens fire on a throng of people who are celebrating a holiday with their community while their children are there. The type of wickedness that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams, and their futures cannot be adequately described using words “Pritzker expressed his thoughts in a statement. “We have no choice but to put an end to this epidemic of gun violence, and we will.”
The Mayor of Highland Park, Nancy Rotering, stated that: “During this incredibly difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families. On a day when we were supposed to be celebrating our sense of community and our freedom together, we are instead grieving the senseless loss of life and attempting to come to terms with the tragedy that has been visited upon us.”
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