At least six people have died and twenty have been injured by gunshots this Monday in the town of Highland Park (Illinois, USA), about 43 kilometers from Chicago, during a shooting in the middle of the Independence Day parade. .
Authorities are searching for the suspect who shot parade-goers from the roof of a building where police have found a rifle, police said.
The shooting began just ten minutes after the start of the parade at 10 in the morning. The police immediately responded to the author or authors of the shots, which were no less than 20 according to witnesses. “Everybody disperse please. It’s not safe to be here,” the policemen yelled as they repelled the shots.
“Law enforcement is searching for the suspect,” the City of Highland Park said on its website. He added: “Numerous law enforcement officers are responding and have secured a perimeter around downtown Highland Park.”
Highland Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill has asked people to shelter in a safe place while authorities search for the suspect, described as a white male wearing a white or blue T-shirt. At the moment, the police have not revealed any details about the victims or the injured.
“On a day when we come together to celebrate community and freedom, we are mourning the tragic loss of life and fighting the terror it brought us,” said Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering.
The shooting has led to the disbandment of hundreds of parade attendees, including many children accompanied by their parents. The videos spread on the networks show shocking images of people running, in many cases without noticing the portable seats, baby strollers and blankets that they left behind.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has published a message of support and hope on Twitter: “The 4th of July is a sacred day in our country: it is a time to celebrate the goodness of our nation, the only nation on Earth founded on an idea: that all people are equal”.
Both the commemorative parade and the rest of the acts for the July 4 holiday were immediately suspended, reported the authorities of this municipality of 30,000 inhabitants.
The shooting comes at an especially poignant moment after the May 24 massacre in which 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. As well as the mass shooting on May 14 in which ten people died in a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
