The suspect, described by police as a white male between the ages of 18 and 20, escaped and is considered “armed and dangerous.”
“Our community was terrified by an act of violence that has shaken us to the core. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims during this devastating time,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said at the news conference.
#InPhotos l A shooting in Chicago leaves at least 6 dead and 24 injured
4th of July shooting
A man opened fire and left at least six dead and 24 wounded this Monday during a parade for the United States Independence Day in Highland Park, a town north of Chicago, authorities reported.
Jim Vondruska©/Getty Images
police response
US authorities on Monday detected shots fired along a Fourth of July parade route in the affluent Chicago suburb of Highland Park, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.
WLS-TV/ABC7/Reuters
a delicate moment
The shooting comes at a time when gun violence is still fresh in the minds of many Americans.
Jim Vondruska©/Getty Images
no celebrations
Fourth of July celebrations have been called off both in Highland Park and in nearby Evanston Township.
Jim Vondruska©/Getty Images
all agencies
Various law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), state police and local police, are collaborating in the response to the attack.
WLS-TV/ABC7/Reuters
Fear
The shots sowed panic in the streets of Highland Park, a wealthy town on the shores of Lake Michigan, where hundreds of people had gathered in the morning for the July 4 celebrations.
WLS-TV/ABC7/Reuters
Alert
The suspect, described by police as a white male between the ages of 18 and 20, escaped and is considered “armed and dangerous.”
Jim Vondruska©/Getty Images
no gun control
Advocates of pushing for tougher gun control laws suffered a setback with a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the right to carry guns in public.
WLS-TV/ABC7/Reuters
The shooting comes at a time when gun violence is still fresh in the minds of many Americans, after 19 schoolchildren and two teachers were killed on May 24 at an elementary school in Uvalde,Texas, and an attack on May 14 that killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
A hospital spokesman said there were 31 injuries. Staff at NorthShore Highland Park Hospital in Highland Park were treating 26 people and five were taken to NorthShore Hospital Evanston, according to spokesman Jim Anthony.
“The vast majority sustained gunshot wounds. The remaining people sustained injuries as a result of the chaos in the parade,” Anthony said.
moments of panic
The shots sowed panic in the streets of Highland Park, a wealthy town on the shores of Lake Michigan, where hundreds of people had gathered in the morning for the July 4 celebrations.
“Stay out of the area – allow law enforcement and first responders to do their job,” the sheriff’s department said on Twitter earlier.
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 report said. Chicago Sun-Times.