At least six people were killed and twenty-four others injured in a shooting Monday, July 4, during a parade on the occasion of July 4, the American national holiday, in Highland Park, a wealthy city north of Chicago (Illinois). Earlier, the municipality said sixteen people had been taken to hospital.
The suspect, described by police as a white male between the ages of 18 and 20, is on the run and “considered armed and dangerous”. According to the sheriff’s office, the man fired a shotgun from the roof of a building. The authorities are still looking for him.
According to the daily Chicago Sun-Times, the parade began around 10 a.m. (5 p.m. Paris time), but only lasted about ten minutes before gunshots were heard. A witness told the American channel CNN to have heard between twenty and twenty-five shots. Videos, filmed by witnesses, recorded the shots and the panic that ensued.
The 4th of July festivities canceled around
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering had confirmed on Twitter that city police were carrying out a response in the town centre. The July 4 festivities have been canceled, she continued, asking to avoid the perimeter.
Brad Schneider, who represents the state of Illinois in the Lower House of Congress, was in this wealthy city, located on the shores of Lake Michigan, when the shots rang out. “My campaign team and I had just met for the start of the parade when the gunfire started,” he tweeted after taking cover.
The 4th of July festivities have been canceled in several neighboring towns, notably in Evanston and Mount Prospect, as a precaution.
