Update: At Least 5 Dead, 16 Hurt in Highland Park July Fourth Parade Shooting, according to authorities.
Police say they are searching for the suspect and said this is an “active shooter incident.”
Witnesses told local media that the gunman was standing on the sidewalk,
“He was very military style, methodical in the way he was crouched and shooting.”
Others said that they counted at least 20 gunshots,
“I heard 20 to 25 shots, which were in rapid succession. So it couldn’t have been just a handgun or a shotgun.”
Aguayo News Previously Reported:
CHICAGO – Multiple people have been shot and authorities fear numerous people are dead after a mass shooting erupted at a 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on Monday.
Police are reportedly patrolling the Chicago area suburb with rifles.
The parade started around 10 a.m. but was suddenly stopped 10 minutes later after shots were fired.
Hundreds of parade-goers — some visibly bloodied — fled the parade route, leaving behind chairs, baby strollers and blankets.
A Sun-Times reporter saw blankets placed over three bloodied bodies.
Police told people: “Everybody disburse, please. It is not safe to be here.”
Debbie Glickman, a Highland Park resident, said she was on a parade float with coworkers and the group was prepared to turn onto the main route when she saw people running away from the area.
“People started saying ‘There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter, there a shooter,’” Glickman told the Associated Press. “So we just ran. We just ran. It’s like mass chaos down there.”
She didn’t hear any noises or see anyone who appeared to be injured.
“I’m so freaked out,” she said. “It’s just so sad.”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter that it is assisting Highland Park Police “with a shooting in the area of the Independence Day parade route.”
The Police Department said no one was immediately available to discuss the incident.
City leaders said on Twitter that “Police are responding to an incident in downtown Highland Park. Fourth Fest has been canceled. Please avoid downtown Highland Park. More information will be shared as it becomes available.”
