A shooting at the Fourth of July Parade in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, has left at least six people dead and dozens injured.
UPDATE:
July 5. 2022 4:02 PM
A seventh person died Tuesday afternoon Lake County Major rimes Task Force spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli confirmed. Besides the seven who were killed, 46 others were wounded.
Amateur rapper Robert “Bobby” Crimo III was named a person of interest in the Highland Park parade shooting and was arrested yesterday after an hours-long manhunt.
A passing motorist in Lake Forest managed to record the arrest.
An officer with a megaphone can be heard directing the man to raise his hands “all the way up,” while another cop has a gun trained on him from the other side of the road.
A moment later, more than a half-dozen officers rush over and handcuff Crimo.
Original:
July 4, 2022, 4:30 PM
Police launched a massive manhunt on Monday for a rooftop shooter who murdered at least 6 people and injured 24 others during the Fourth of July Parade in Highland Park, a wealthy suburb of Chicago.
Mayor Nancy Rotering said the violence “has shaken us to our core,” adding, “On a day that we came together to celebrate community and freedom, we are instead mourning the tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror that was brought upon us.”
Rotering said the rest of the festival has been canceled, and several nearby communities also canceled their parades.
The shooter, described as a white man between 18-20 with long black hair, a small build, and wearing a white or blue T-shirt, opened fire around 10:14 AM according to Highland Park police Commander Chris O’Neill told reporters.
Investigators said a firearm was recovered from the scene and it appeared the gunman was shooting from a roof. Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Chris Covelli described the weapon as “a high-powered rifle.”
Covelli stated that the rooftop shooter stopped firing once officers responded in order to escape capture.
“All indications is he was discreet and he was very difficult to see,” Covelli said.
“It sounds like spectators were targeted … very random, very intentional and a very sad day,” Covelli said.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering thanked police officers for their fast response. “Our community has been terrorized by an act of violence that’s shaken us to our core.”
Illinois State Police also responded to the scene, “assisting Highland Park PD with an active shooter situation.”
“All we know right now is that he’s not in custody, and he’s not deceased,” said Mike Verden, a local resident, the founder and CEO of The Lake Forest Group security consulting firm and a former Secret Service agent, police officer, and senior director of security for the NBA. “Sometimes these guys get away… Some want to do suicide by cop, some kill themselves, and some just don’t want to get caught.”
Governor JB Pritzker released a statement regarding the shooting.
He urged all Illinoisans to pray for the victims, their families, and the first responders. “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,” he said.
