HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. – Six people were killed and at least two dozen injured as gunfire and chaos shattered a Fourth of July parade in this affluent Chicago suburb, and a manhunt was underway for the killer.
Authorities described the shooter as a white male with dark hair, 18 to 20 years old, and warned residents to shelter in place. Video from the scene shows scores of people running for cover as music continues to play minutes after the event began at 10 a.m. local time Monday.
President Joe Biden said in a statement he and his wife are “shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day.” Biden added that despite the gun safety bill he signed June 25, “there is much more work to do.”
Lake County Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said the gunman apparently fired from a rooftop at around 10:14 a.m. A high-powered rifle was recovered at the scene, but the suspect should still be considered armed and dangerous, Covelli said.
“We’re asking everybody to stay indoors,” Covelli said. “Stay vigilant right now.”
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said the five people killed at the parade were adults but didn’t have information on the sixth victim, who died at a hospital.
Dr. Brigham Temple, an emergency physician at NorthShore University Health System, said the facility received 26 patients from the attack and 25 of them had gunshot wounds, including four or five children. He added that 19 of the wounded were treated and released.
Hundreds involved in manhunt and investigation
SWAT teams ushered spectators out of buildings after they fled the street, Covelli said. Hundreds of federal, state and local officers were involved in the manhunt and investigation, he said. The Justice Department said Attorney General Merrick Garland was briefed on the shooting and the investigation. The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted local authorities.
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., said he and staffers were gathering at the start of the parade when the shooting started. All are safe, he said.
“My condolences to the family and loved ones; my prayers for the injured and for my community; and my commitment to do everything I can to make our children, our towns, our nation safer,” he tweeted. “Enough is enough!”
WHAT IS HIGHLAND PARK?Affluent Chicago suburb reeling after July 4th shooting is known for films, family community
Highland Park, home to about 30,000 people, is about 25 miles north of Chicago on Lake Michigan. Clothing stores, restaurants and gift shops line the tree-shaded street with brick sidewalks leading into the center of town, where a large American flag waved above caution tape and rows of police cars.
Abandoned lawn chairs, wagons and bikes were scattered along the parade route. Sirens wailed on the 88-degree, overcast day as law enforcement vehicles flew past residential streets. Curious residents walked along the sidewalks as officers with rifles stood along the edges of a park downtown.
Alexander Sandoval, 39, a contractor, shook as he stood outside his neighbor’s house with his 5-year-old son, his partner and her 6-year-old daughter. He said he had set up chairs right in front of the stage at 7 a.m., three hours before the festivities began.
“When everything started happening, we thought it was the Navy saluting the flag,” he told USA TODAY. “Shots rang out. I grabbed my kid and ran.”
Sandoval said he tried to break a store window to get inside a building and ended up putting his son as well as Sandoval’s younger brother and the family dog in a large trash bin before going to search for the rest of his party.
“I saw people shot on the ground. I saw two, three people shot. I saw a police officer just carrying a little boy, the age of my son. It’s just emotional,” he said. “I just heard the bullets hitting. I just know I had to keep moving.”
‘Everybody started to panic’
Manuel Rangel, 28, said he saw dozens of people running past his house, away from the parade area downtown.
“They looked scared. They were panicking,” he told USA TODAY. “You never see those things here. It’s a quiet place.”
LATEST SHOOTINGS:A list of recent high-profile shootings in the United States in 2022
JAYLAND WALKER’S FAMILY: He was not a ‘masked monster with a gun’ in Akron police shooting
Sharon Genest, 70, stood outside her home across from a firehouse. An American flag and star decorations hung on her front door. She said she picked up her 8-year-old granddaughter to watch the parade Monday morning and was there when band members marching in the parade suddenly dispersed and ran.
“I was only two blocks away. And when they said run, you run. But everybody started to panic,” she said. “There was a little pandemonium.”
Emir Gomez, 41, stood outside his parents’ house across from the fire station as sirens blared and a helicopter flew overhead. He said he was visiting his parents for the parade and was positioned near the end of the parade.
“It’s a tradition that we do every year,” he said. “We saw two cop cars go in the opposite direction, which was unusual. We saw people running. There were carrying what they could.
“This kind of thing shouldn’t be happening here. And now it has. Are we safe anywhere?”
Discussion about this post