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6 Dead, 30 Injured in Shooting at Chicago 4th of July Parade

5 Dead, 19 injured in a Gunfire at Chicago 4th of July Parade

6 Dead, 30 Injured in Shooting at Chicago 4th of July Parade

Newslooks- CHICAGO (AP)

At least 6 people are dead and 30 were taken to hospitals after a shooting at a July Fourth parade in a Chicago suburb, police said.

The shooting in Highland Park disrupted the annual parade just after it began at 10 a.m.

Highland Park Police said in a statement that five people were killed and 30 people were taken to hospitals. It was unclear if the five dead were among the 19 hospitalized.

The police said authorities are still searching for the suspect and called it an active incident.

Law enforcement search in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

officers are searching for a suspect who likely fired on the festivities from a rooftop, police said Monday.

Highland Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill, the incident commander on scene, urged people to shelter in place as authorities search for the suspect.

A woman wipes tears after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Hours after the shooting, with bystanders and media standing nearby, about a dozen officers suddenly dashed for a small office building half a block from where the shooting occurred — crouching at the glass doors, before flinging them open and rushing in, rifles pointed inside into a dark foyer. It was not immediately clear why the police had entered the building.

Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference that the gunman apparently opened fire on parade-goers from a rooftop using a rifle that was recovered at the scene. He didn’t know which building.

Police from several local municipalities including the Illinois State Police search downtown Highland Park after a shooting where multiple people were shot and other injured at the Fourth of July parade Monday, July 4, 2022, in a suburb of Chicago. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Covelli said police believe there was only one shooter and warned 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 wounded.

“This morning at 10:14, our community was terrorized by an act of violence that has shaken us to our 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 that we came together to celebrate community and freedom, we are instead mourning the tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror that was brought upon us.”

A police officer reacts as he walks in downtown Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, Monday, July 4, 2022, where a mass shooting took place at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement: “There are no words for the kind of monster who lies in wait and fires into a crowd of families with children celebrating a holiday with their community.”

Hundreds of parade-goers — some visibly bloodied — fled the parade route after shots rang out, leaving their belongings behind. Video shot by a Sun-Times journalist after the gunfire rang out shows a band on a float continuing to play as people run past, screaming.

Police tape hangs at corner of Central Avenue and Green Bay Rd., in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, Monday, July 4, 2022, after a mass shooting at Highland Park Fourth of July parade. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

As of early afternoon, ominous signs of a joyous event suddenly turned to horror filled both sides of Central Street where the shooting occurred. Dozens of baby cartridges, some bearing American flags, abandoned children’s bikes, a helmet bedecked with images of Cinderella were left behind in their haste. Blankets, lawn chairs, coffees and water bottles were knocked over as people fled.

A Lake County police officer walks down Central Ave in Highland Park, Ill. on Monday, July 4, 2022, after a shooter fired on the northern suburb’s Fourth of July parade. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP)

Police, some in camouflage gear and many clutching AR-style weapons, continued to pour into the area.

Armed FBI agents in camouflage escorted a family with two small girls across Central Street hours after the shooting. The children looked visibly frightened even as their mother attempted to reassure them that the agents leading and flanking them would protect them.

Police search the downtown area of the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade Monday, July 4, 2022. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

“Don’t worry, you’re safe now,” she told them. “These guys will protect you.”

Highland Park Police initially said in a statement early Monday afternoon that five people had been killed and 19 people were taken to hospitals. but those numbers were revised at the news conference.

Gina Troiani and her son were lined up with his daycare class ready to walk onto the parade route when she heard a loud sound that she believed was fireworks — until she heard people yell about a shooter.

Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

“We just start running in the opposite direction,” she told The Associated Press.

Her 5-year-old son was riding his bike decorated with red and blue curled ribbons. He and other children in the group held small American flags. The city said on its website that the festivities were to include a children’s bike and pet parade.

Troiani said she pushed her son’s bike, running through the neighborhood to get back to their car.

Police officers cross under police tape at the scene of a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in a suburb of Chicago, Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

In a video that Troiani shot on her phone, some of the kids are visibly startled at the loud noise and they scramble to the side of the road as a siren wails nearby.

It was just sort of chaos,” she said. “There were people that got separated from their families, looking for them. Others just dropped their wagons, grabbed their kids and started running.”

Debbie Glickman, a Highland Park resident, said she was on a parade float with coworkers and the group was preparing to turn onto the main route when she saw people running from the area.

Law enforcement search in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

“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 mass chaos down there.”

She didn’t hear any noises or see anyone who appeared to be injured.

“I’m so freaked out,” she said. “It’s just so sad.”

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Blood pooled at Port Clinton Square in Highland Park, after a shooting at a July Fourth parade, in a Chicago suburb, Monday, July 4, 2022. (Lynn Sweet/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Police are responding to a shooting at a July Fourth parade in a Chicago suburb, authorities said Monday. No casualties have been officially reported, but witnesses described seeing bloodied bodies covered with blankets as hundreds of people ran for safety.

Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo pose with 63 and 40 hot dogs, respectively, after winning the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest in Coney Island on Monday, July 4, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the parade began around 10 a.m. but was suddenly halted 10 minutes later after shots were fired. A Sun-Times reporter saw blankets placed over three bloodied bodies. Several witnesses told the newspaper that they heard gunfire.

Hundreds of parade-goers — some visibly bloodied — fled the parade route, leaving behind chairs, baby strollers and blankets.

Police told people: “Everybody disperse, please. It is not safe to be here.”

A Fourth of July parade-goer runs for cover after gunfire was heard at the parade Monday morning, July 4, 2022, in a suburb of Chicago. (Lynn Sweet/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Video shot by a Sun-Times journalist after the gunfire rang out shows a band on a float continuing to play as people run past, screaming. A photo posted to social media appeared to show pools of blood near upturned chairs in downtown Highland Park.

Gina Troiani and her son were lined up with his daycare class ready to walk onto the parade route when she heard a loud sound that she believed was fireworks — until she heard people yell about a shooter.

A piece of a parade float is seen in a puddle as rain pours down after the 4thFest parade was canceled due to severe weather on Independence Day, Monday, July 4, 2022, in Coralville, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)

“We just start running in the opposite direction,” she told The Associated Press.

Her 5-year-old son was riding his bike decorated with red and blue curled ribbons. He and other children in the group held small American flags. The city said on it’s website that the festivities were to include a children’s bike and pet parade.

Troiani said she pushed her son’s bike, running through the neighborhood to get back to their car.

Terrified parade-goers fled Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade after shots were fired, leaving behind their belongings as they sought safety, Monday, July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Ill. (Lynn Sweet/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

In a video that Troiani shot on her phone, some of the kids are visibly startled at the loud noise and they scramble to the side of the road as a siren wails nearby.

It was just sort of chaos,” she said. “There were people that got separated from their families, looking for them. Others just dropped their wagons, grabbed their kids and started running.”

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a tweet that he is “closely monitoring the situation in Highland Park” and that Illinois State Police are assisting. The ISP said in an email that it was assisting in the response to an active shooter reported around 10:24 a.m.

Members of the Florida International Girl pageant group wave during a 4th of July parade Monday, July 4, 2022, in Plantation, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter that it is assisting Highland Park Police “with a shooting in the area of the Independence Day parade route.” The sheriff’s office directed an AP reporter to contact Highland Park Police. The Police Department said no one was immediately available to comment.

Debbie Glickman, a Highland Park resident, said she was on a parade float with coworkers and the group was preparing to turn onto the main route when she saw people running from the area.

Law enforcement search in a building after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

“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 mass chaos down there.”

She didn’t hear any noises or see anyone who appeared to be injured.

“I’m so freaked out,” she said. “It’s just so sad.”

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