HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. –
At least six people were killed and 24 wounded in a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, and officers are searching for a suspect who likely shot at the festivities from a rooftop, police said on Thursday. Monday.
Highland Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill, the scene’s incident commander, urged people to shelter in place while authorities search for the suspect, described as a white male wearing a white or blue T-shirt.
Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference that the gunman apparently opened fire on parade attendees from a roof with a rifle that was recovered at the scene. He didn’t know which building.
Covelli said police believe there was only one shooter and cautioned that he should still be considered armed and dangerous. He and O’Neill described the shooting as random.
Police have not released any details about the victims or the injured.
“This morning at 10:14, our community was terrorized by an act of violence that has shaken us to the core,” Mayor Nancy Rotering said at the news conference. “Our hearts go out to the families of the victims at this devastating time. On a day when we come together to celebrate community and freedom, we mourn the tragic loss of life and struggle with the terror it brought us.”
Hundreds of parade goers, some visibly bloodied, fled the parade route after gunshots rang out, leaving their belongings behind. By early afternoon, ominous signs of a joyful event suddenly turning to horror filled both sides of Central Street, where the shooting occurred. Dozens of baby cartridges, some with American flags, abandoned children’s bicycles, a helmet adorned with images of Cinderella were left behind in their haste. Blankets, lawn chairs, coffee and water bottles were knocked over as people fled.
Armed police, some in camouflage clothing and many with AR-style weapons, continued to pour into the area.
Highland Park Police initially said in a statement Monday afternoon that five people had died and 19 people had been taken to hospitals. but those numbers were revised shortly after at the news conference.
Video shot by a Sun-Times reporter after the shots rang out shows a band on a float continuing to play as people run past, screaming.
Gina Troiani and her son were lined up with her kindergarten class ready to walk down the parade route when she heard a loud sound that she thought was fireworks, until she heard people yelling about a shooter.
“We started running in the opposite direction,” he told The Associated Press.
Her 5-year-old son rode his bicycle decorated with curly red and blue ribbons. He and other children in the group held small American flags. The city said on its website that the festivities would include a children’s bike and pet parade.
Troiani said she pushed her son’s bike, running through the neighborhood to get back to her car.
In a video Troiani recorded on her phone, some of the children are visibly startled by the loud noise and pull over to the side of the road as a siren sounds nearby.
It was kind of chaotic,” he said. “There were people who were separated from their families, looking for them. Others just dropped their cars, grabbed their kids and started running.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said in a tweet that he is “closely monitoring the situation in Highland Park.”
Highland Park resident Debbie Glickman said she was in a parade float with her co-workers and the group was preparing to turn onto the main road when she saw people running from the area.
“People started saying, ‘There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter, there’s a shooter,'” Glickman told the Associated Press. “So we just ran. We just ran. It’s like massive chaos down there.”
He did not hear any noise or see anyone who appeared to be injured.
“I’m so scared,” she said. “It’s so sad”.
Associated Press reporter Kathleen Foody contributed from Chicago.