Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
OAN NEWSROOM
UPDATED 12:00 PM PT – Monday, July 4, 2022
A manhunt is underway for the suspect in connection with a July 4 parade shooting in Illinois which left six people dead and dozens injured. Police said the gunman opened fire from the rooftop of a high-rise building just as the parade kicked off on Monday morning. The shooting took place in downtown Highland Park, north of Chicago.
“On a day that we came together to celebrate community and freedom we are instead mourning a tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror that was brought upon us,” voiced Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering.
People fled for cover following reports of a #shooting at an #IndependenceDay parade in #HighlandPark, Illinois on Monday. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said they were assisting police in responding to the shooting in the north #Chicago suburb. pic.twitter.com/4M7SRzMu0D
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) July 4, 2022
The suspect is described as an 18 to 20-year-old white male with black hair. He remains at large. Authorities said the shooting appeared to be random and not targeted. Witnesses said they heard multiple shots being fired and attendees quickly fled the scene. Chairs, strollers and other belongings were left behind.
“People started saying ‘There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter, there’s a shooter,’” resident Debbie Glickman said. “So we just ran. We just ran. It’s like mass chaos down there.”
BREAKING- Six killed, 24 wounded in US July 4 parade shooting: police.#HighlandPark #Chicago #FourthOfJulyParade #FourthOfJulyMassacre pic.twitter.com/RZ5IYPgfLu
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) July 4, 2022
All independence day celebrations have been canceled in the city and surrounding areas. The attack is just the latest in a wave of public shootings to hit the US in recent weeks, including a mass shooting in a school in Texas and a racially motivated massacre in Buffalo, New York.
We will continue to follow this story and provide more information as it comes.