A Fourth of July parade-goers run for cover after gunshots are heard in a parade on Monday morning, July 4, 2022, in a Chicago suburb.
Highlight
- At least five killed and 19 taken to hospitals after mass shootings in US
- Shooting erupts during the July 4th Independence Day Parade in Chicago, Illinois
- The parade started around 10 am but was abruptly stopped after 10 minutes of firing.
Illinois Shooting: At least five people were killed and 19 were taken to hospital in a mass shooting during the Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburb of Illinois, USA. Officials gave this information on Monday. Several parade-goers, some injured and covered in blood, flooded the area, AP news agency reported. Eyewitnesses said that seeing the blood-soaked bodies covered with blankets, hundreds of people rushed to safety.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the parade began at around 10 a.m., but was abruptly stopped after 10 minutes of shots fired. A Sun-Times reporter saw blankets on three blood-soaked bodies. Several eyewitnesses told the newspaper that they heard gunshots.
The police told the people: “Everyone disperse, please. It’s not safe to live here.”
The video, shot after a Sun-Times reporter was shot, shows the band playing on the float and people running around screaming. A photo posted on social media shows him lying in a pool of blood near upturned chairs in downtown Highland Park.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a tweet that he is “closely monitoring the situation at Highland Park” and that the Illinois State Police is assisting.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter that it is assisting Highland Park Police “with shootings in the area of the Independence Day parade route.” The sheriff’s office directed an AP reporter to contact Highland Park Police. The police department said no one was immediately available to discuss the incident.
Highland Park resident Debbie Glickman said she was on a parade float with colleagues and the group was preparing to head to the main street when she saw people running through the area.
“People started saying: ‘There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter, there’s a shooter,'” Glickman told the Associated Press. “So we just ran. We just ran. It’s like massive chaos out there.”
He didn’t hear any noise or see anyone who was injured.
“I’m so nervous,” she said. “It’s just so sad.”
(AP input)
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