A gunman on a rooftop opened fire on the participants of an Independence Day parade in Chicago on Monday, killing at least six people, wounding at least 30 and sending hundreds of marchers, parents with strollers and children on bicycles fleeing in terror, police said.
Shooter “Took Elevated Position” Possibly on Rooftop to Fire on Crowd at Highland Park 4th of July Parade – At Least 9 Shot.
Shots were fired today during the Fourth of July Parade in the northern Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois. Mass panic ensued as the sound of gunshots erupted during holiday parade. Many are reported to have been shot in the attack. A Chicago suburb canceled what was left of its 4th of July celebration after gunfire erupted during a parade in the affluent neighborhood of Highland Park, according to NBC5 Chicago.
The Chicago Sun Times reports that multiple people were shot.
A Sun-Times reporter saw blankets placed over three bloodied bodies. Other people, running, were visibly bloodied. Police told people: “Everybody disburse, please. It is not safe to be here.”
Blood pooled at Port Clinton Square in Highland Park. Lynn Sweet/ Sun-Times
Cops are still going to the scene pic.twitter.com/gL3Gjhil7V
— eNreeKaii (@Ri_Kayyy) July 4, 2022
#BREAKING: Multiple fatalities reported following reports of an active shooter during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
Reports that the suspect is barricaded inside of a Sunset Foods grocery with hostages.
pic.twitter.com/HWIl6G7DFk https://t.co/tODYGnZ2G2
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) July 4, 2022
“STAY OUT OF THE AREA – allow law-enforcement and first responders to do their work,” posted the sheriff on social media, while Illinois state police called the situation “active.”
Witnesses say the shooter was on the roof of Uncle Dan’s and fired into parade. 5 or 6 shots, then a pause, then 5 or 6 more shots. The shooter is still at large and North Shore residents are being asked to stay inside. #highlandpark @WGNNews
— Dan Ponce (@DanPonceTV) July 4, 2022
Nearby towns have canceled their parades as a caution against similar attacks.
It went from a normal patriotic parade to mass panic in seconds.
FOX News reporter Mike Tobin reported moments ago that there are reports that the shooter was firing at the crowd from “an elevated position” possibly from the rooftop of a building.
More via the Sun Times:
Several witnesses said they heard multiple shots fired. One witness said he counted more than 20 shots.
Miles Zaremski, a Highland Park resident, told the Sun-Times: “I heard 20 to 25 shots, which were in rapid succession. So it couldn’t have been just a handgun or a shotgun.”
Zaremski said that after the shots at Central Avenue around Second Avenue in downtown Highland Park, he saw “people in that area that got shot,” including “a woman covered with blood . . . She did not survive.”
…
Police were patrolling the area with rifles, apparently looking for whoever fired the shots.
Adrienne Drell, a former Sun-Times reporter, said she was sitting on a curb along Central Avenue watching the parade when she saw members of the Highland Park High School marching band start to run.
“Go to Sunset,” Drell said she heard the students shout, directing people to nearby Sunset Food.
A man picked her up off the curb and urged her to get out, Drell said.
“The Illinois State Police is currently assisting Highland Park PD with an active shoot situation that occurred at the Highland Park Parade,” tweeted the police. “The public is advised to avoid the area of Central Ave and 2nd St. in Highland Park.”
Shotting in highland park 4th of July parade. pic.twitter.com/oCfhzfKRZj
— Hugo Aguilar (@Hugo_Aguilar6) July 4, 2022
The city of Highland Park also cautioned people to avoid the area, writing on Facebook: “Fourth Fest has been canceled. Please avoid downtown Highland Park. More information will be shared as it becomes available.”
Authorities said a man named as a person of interest in the shooting was taken into police custody Monday evening after an hourslong manhunt in and around Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on Chicago’s north shore.