Shooting at Highland Park, Illinois, during the Independence day parade: Highland Park police investigate the shooting in which there are at least six dead and 31 people who were taken to the hospital.
At least six people have died and another 31 have been taken to the hospital after being shot by a sniper from a rooftop in the city of Highland Park, Illinois, according to the city’s official website. The shooting occurred this Monday during a parade on the occasion of Independence Day in the United States.
Highland Park police are investigating the shooting in the suburb, located 25 miles from Chicago. “Highland Park Police are responding to an incident in downtown Highland Park. Fourth Fest has been canceled.
Avoid downtown Highland Park,” said Nancy Rotering, mayor of the Illinois state town, on Twitter. Incident Commander Chris O’Neil has also said authorities are still searching for the suspect, whom they describe as a white male between the ages of 18 and 20 wearing a white or blue T-shirt.
Also, Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force said police have recovered a rifle from the scene of a deadly shooting at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Covelli has said that he could not reveal details about where the gun was found, but that it appeared that the shooter was “firing from a roof,” although it is not known from which roof specifically. He has also noted that, at this point in the investigation, police believe there was only one shooter.
The suspect, who is still on the run, used a “high-capacity rifle” to fire into the public in a “very random,” “very intentional” act on a “very sad” day, added Christopher Covelli of the county police. of Lake, to which Highland Park belongs. The gun the suspect used was found on the roof from which he fired and from which he managed to flee. “Everything indicates that he was very discreet and that it was difficult to see him,” Covelli detailed.
Some of the videos that are beginning to be shared on social networks seem to show several shots while the commemorative parade was being held. After the shots, it can be seen that many of those attending the event have begun to scream and flee the place. Some of the witnesses confirm that between 20 and 30 shots have been heard.
The parade came to a sudden halt when gunshots were heard about 10 minutes after it began, sending hundreds of people running for safety, the Chicago Sun-Times has reported. People fled the scene upon hearing several loud bangs, Chicago’s CBS 2 television reported, citing a producer who was at the parade. “Everyone was running and hiding and screaming,” said CBS 2 Digital Producer Elyssa Kaufman.
US President Joe Biden has claimed to feel “shocked” at a new “senseless” mass shooting in the United States after a man opened fire on Monday on those attending an Independence Day parade in Highland Park (Illinois).
Joe Biden has also promised to continue fighting “the epidemic of gun violence” in the country and said he has ordered federal security forces to go to Highland Park, near Chicago, to help search for the suspect. , who continues on the run.
Highland Park shooting Incident: Witnesses speak
A witness to the shooting has told CNN that at first, she thought “they were fireworks” because of the July 4 celebration. The witness explained that the city, Highland Park, of about 30,000 inhabitants, does not usually have fireworks at its Independence Day celebrations, so she was surprised to hear them. His is one of the many testimonies that flooded the television networks and the web pages of American newspapers shortly after the news of the shooting broke.
Most testimonies have described the sound of the shots as a burst, with short intervals of silence so that the author could reload his rifle. The authorities have indicated that the weapon recovered at the crime scene is “a high-caliber rifle”, without clarifying whether it is a semi-automatic weapon like the one used in the mass shooting in Uvalde (Texas), in which a little more than Within a month, 19 children and two teachers died.
Another witness, who came all the way from Arizona to watch the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park with her father, described to CNN how she saw a girl shot to death as she turned around trying to flee. “To experience this at a party that means a lot to people because they come with their families is crazy, and the only thing I could think about was getting my daughter to safety,” another witness told ABC.
“I kept running and entered an alley”
The woman has explained that seeing so many people running towards her made her feel “terrified”, and that motivated her to flee from the place where she had hidden with her daughter – a nearby store -, and keep running. Likewise, another man told The Chicago Sun Times that he and his partner separated during the chaos, each taking one of his two children.”I grabbed my son and tried to get into one of the local buildings, but I couldn’t. The shooting stopped, I guess the shooter was reloading. So I kept running and went into an alley and put my son in a dumpster to to be safe,” the man explained to the newspaper.
More witnesses explained the chaos of the moment, with people running in terror in all directions, something that can also be seen in various videos posted on social networks by those attending the July 4 parade. The suspect has yet to be captured, and authorities have explained that he likely acted alone, and his target appeared to be parade-goers, whom he shot from a nearby rooftop.
City authorities in Evanston, Illinois have closed all beaches and canceled evening fireworks as a precaution.