UPDATED: 6:46 p.m.
BREAKING: Police say they have the gunman from Highland Park, 22-year-old Bobby Crimo III in custody now, reportedly catching up with the alleged 4th of July shooter roughly six miles north of the scene.
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HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (Reuters) -Six people were killed and at least two dozen wounded when a man with a high-powered rifle opened fire from a rooftop at a Fourth of July parade in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Highland Park on Monday, turning a civic display of patriotism into a scene of panicked mayhem.
Police said they had identified a person of interest in the shooting, 22-year-old Robert E Crimo III, who was from the area. They said he was driving a silver 2010 Honda Fit automobile.
“He is considered armed and dangerous,” sheriff’s department spokesperson Christopher Covelli told journalists, adding that people should not approach him if they see him.
Officials said a rifle was recovered from the scene.
More than 36 people were injured, mostly with gunshot wounds, said Jim Anthony, a spokesman for the NorthShore University HealthSystem. The 26 victims taken to the Highland Park hospital ranged in age from 8 to 85, said Brigham Temple, an emergency room doctor.
At least one of those killed was a Mexican national, a senior Mexican Foreign Ministry official said on Twitter.
The shooting comes with gun violence fresh on the minds of many Americans, after a massacre on May 24 killed 19 school children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, which followed a May 14 attack that killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
Children waving American flags, riding tricycles or enjoying a ride in a wagon pulled by adults froze as people in the crowd screamed while gun shots rang out, video on social media showed.
One cellphone video, seen but not verified by Reuters, recorded what sounded to be about 30 rapid shots, a pause, and then another roughly 30 shots. Between the two bursts, a woman can be heard saying from the side of the parade route: “My God, what happened?”
Police said the gunman remained at large.
“He could be in the city. He could be somewhere else,” Covelli said earlier.
He said the shooting took place from the rooftop of a business that the gunman reached via an alley ladder attached to the building that was not secure.
Police asked the public for tips and cellphone images and surveillance video to help find him. They did not have a motive for the shooting.
President Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill were “shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day.”
Biden said he had “surged federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter.”
In his statement, Biden referred to bipartisan gun-reform legislation he signed recently but said much more needed to be done and added: “I’m not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence.”
‘REALLY TRAUMATIZING’
Amarani Garcia, who was at the parade with her young daughter, told the local ABC affiliate she heard gunfire, then a pause for what she suspected was reloading, and then more shots.
There were “people screaming and running. It was just really traumatizing,” Garcia said. “I was very terrified. I hid with my daughter actually in a little store. It just makes me feel like we’re not safe anymore.”
Social media video showed a marching band suddenly breaking formation and running away, and other images of people leaving their belongings behind as they sought safety.
“Everyone was running, hiding and screaming,” said CBS 2 Digital Producer Elyssa Kaufman, who was at the scene.
A 36-year-old native of Highland Park who wanted to be identified only as Sara, told Reuters she had attended the annual parade most years since her childhood.
“Not even five minutes after, very shortly after, the police and firetrucks part of the parade had gone by I heard ‘pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,’” she said, adding that she first thought they were muskets some times used in parades.
“I looked and there were no muskets. The popping didn’t stop … again it went ‘pop, pop, pop, pop, pop’ and I turned and I said ‘those are gun shots, run!’”
Highland Park’s population is 30,000 and nearly 90% white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About a third of the population is Jewish, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
The shooting is likely to rekindle the American debate about gun control, and whether stricter measure can prevent mass shootings that happen so frequently in the United States.
After the Uvalde and Buffalo shootings, Congress last month passed its first major federal gun reform in three decades, providing federal funding to states that administer “red flag” laws intended to remove guns from people deemed dangerous.
It does not ban sales of assault-style rifles or high-capacity magazines, but does take some steps on background checks by allowing access to information on significant crimes committed by juveniles.
(Reporting by Eric Cox; Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Caroline Stauffer in Chicago; Chris Gallagher, David Brunnstrom and Chris Bing in Washington; and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Writing by Daniel Trotta and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Mary Milliken, Noeleen Walder and Bill Berkrot)
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UPDATED 3:09 p.m.
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (Reuters) -Six people were killed and at least two dozen injured when a man with a high-powered rifle opened fire from a rooftop at a Fourth of July parade in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Highland Park on Monday, turning a civic display of patriotism into a scene of panicked mayhem.
Officials told a news conference that six people were killed and 24 taken to hospital, and that a rifle was recovered from the scene. A hospital spokesperson reported 31 people were injured.
Police said they were searching for a white male about 18 to 20 years old and asked the public for tips and cellphone images and surveillance video to help find him.
“We are aggressively looking for the individual responsible,” sheriff’s department spokesperson Christopher Covelli told journalists. “He could be in the city; he could be somewhere else.”
The shooting comes with gun violence fresh on the minds of many Americans, after a massacre on May 24 killed 19 school children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the May 14 attack that killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
“Jill and I are shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement. “I have spoken to Governor Pritzker and Mayor Rotering, and have offered the full support of the Federal government to their communities. I also surged Federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter.”
Staff at NorthShore Highland Park Hospital in Highland Park were treating 26 people and five were transported to NorthShore Evanston Hospital, spokesperson Jim Anthony said.
“The vast majority suffered gunshot wounds. Remaining individuals sustained injuries as a result of chaos at the parade,” Anthony said.
Children waving American flags, riding tricycles or enjoying a ride in a wagon pulled by adults froze as people in the crowd screamed while gun shots rang out, according to a video posted on social media.
One cellphone video, seen but not verified by Reuters, recorded what sounded to be about 30 rapid shots, a pause, and then another roughly 30 shots. Between the two bursts, a woman can be heard saying from the side of the parade route: “My God, what happened?”
Witness Amarani Garcia, who was at the parade with her young daughter, told the local ABC affiliate she heard gunfire nearby, then a pause for what she suspected was reloading, and then more shots again.
There were “people screaming and running. It was just really traumatizing,” Garcia said. “I was very terrified. I hid with my daughter actually in a little store. It just makes me feel like we’re not safe anymore.”
Social media video showed a marching band in the parade suddenly breaking formation and running away, and other images of people leaving their belongings behind as they sought safety.
“Everyone was running, hiding and screaming,” said CBS 2 Digital Producer Elyssa Kaufman, who was at the scene, the channel’s website reported.
“It sounded like a string of about 20 firecrackers that were let off inside of your mental garbage bin, it was that loud,” Jeff Leon, 57, told CNN, estimating the gunfire lasted less than a minute. “So, I didn’t immediately react, I thought it was just how people are on the fourth.”
Highland Park’s population is 30,000 and nearly 90% white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About a third of the population is Jewish, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
The shooting is likely to rekindle the American debate about gun control, and whether stricter measure can prevent mass shootings that happen so frequently in the United States.
“Grief will not bring the victims back, and prayers alone will not put a stop to the terror of rampant gun violence in our country,” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said. “I will stand firm with Illinoisans and Americans: we must – and we will – end this plague of gun violence.”
(Reporting by Eric Cox; Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Caroline Stauffer in Chicago; Chris Gallagher and David Brunnstrom in Washington; and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Mary Milliken, Bill Berkrot and Lisa Shumaker)
“Today, I ask all Illinoisans to pray for the families who have been devastated by the evil unleashed this morning in Highland Park, for those who have lost loved ones and for those who have been injured. I also ask that we all pray for our first responders at all levels of government who are actively working to bring the suspect into custody, and whose bravery undoubtedly saved innocent lives on the scene.
“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. There are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams, their futures. There are no words I can offer to lift the pain of those they leave behind. Please know that our state grieves with you, that MK and I grieve with you.
“But grief will not bring the victims back, and prayers alone will not put a stop to the terror of rampant gun violence in our country.
“I will stand firm with Illinoisans and Americans: we must – and we will – end this plague of gun violence.” — Gov. JB Pritzker, in a prepared statement
