Spectators run after hearing gunshots in a shooting at the July 4 parade in Illinois
At least six people have been killed and 30 injured in a mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Illinois on Monday morning.
Police named Robert E Crimo, a man in his 20s, as a person interested in the shooting and arrested him after a few hours of human hunting in Highland Park.
A gunman on a rooftop opened fire during a July 4 parade in the Chicago suburbs, sending hundreds of protesters, parents with prams and children on bicycles fleeing in terror, police said.
Robert E Crimo has been named a person of interest in the July 4 Highland Park mass shooting
(City of Highland Park)
While “several of the dead victims” died at the scene, one succumbed to injuries at the hospital, according to authorities.
One of the dead was a Mexican, Roberto Velasco, director of American Affairs in Mexico, said on Twitter. He added that two other Mexicans were injured in the incident.
About 26 of the injured, aged between eight and 85, were sent to the NorthShore University Health Center. All but one had gunshot wounds, said the hospital’s emergency preparedness medical director, Dr Brigham Temple.
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“It looked like fireworks”
A retired doctor on the other side of the street where the gunman opened fire said it “sounded like fireworks.”
“It was a pandemonium,” Richard Kaufman told Reuters, adding that he heard about 200 shots. “People were covered in blood tripping over each other.”
Namita Singh July 5, 2022 6:41 AM
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Mexican national among the dead
A Mexican is one of the victims of the shooting incident, the director of American Affairs of Mexico, Roberto Velasco, announced on Twitter.
He said two other Mexicans were injured.
Namita Singh July 5, 2022 6:34 AM
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White Sox, MLB decides to play a game after the shooting of the parade
The Chicago White Sox spoke Monday with Major League Baseball about postponing their game against the Minnesota Twins after a gunman opened fire on an Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburbs, killing at least six people.
After the team’s conversation with MLB and contact with local authorities, the match was played as planned. The post-match fireworks show was canceled and a moment of silence was observed before the first throw of the Twins ’6-3 victory.
“Our hearts are with the Highland Park community,” the White Sox said in a statement. “The entire Chicago White Sox organization expresses our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the innocent victims of today’s horrific shooting and to all those who have been affected by this tragedy.”
Law enforcement records the area of a shooting in a July 4th parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois
(Getty Images)
“Something needs to change,” said Liam Hendriks, the White Sox shutout. “Something has to be done, something has to happen because there are too many people losing their lives.”
“Unfortunately, it’s almost daily,” White Sox coach Tony La Russa said of the shootings. “Too often.
“Even when there is an explanation, there is no explanation. It doesn’t make sense.”
Namita Singh July 5, 2022 6:19 AM
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“Stomach disease,” says Rachel Brosnahan
Actress Rachel Brosnahan, who hails from Chicago’s Highland Park, said she felt “stomach disease” after the news of the mass shooting in her hometown.
“I grew up in Highland Park and this parade is a highlight of the year for so many families,” he tweeted. “It hurts my stomach every time news like this comes out, but I don’t want the chest in my stomach when you call your family and friends to make sure everyone is okay with anyone. No words.”
Namita Singh July 5, 2022 6:09 AM
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Robert E Crimo: The person interested in the Illinois shooting
Authorities said a man named as a person of interest in the shooting was arrested last night after a human hunt around Highland Park.
Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said a police officer stopped Robert E Crimo about five miles north of the shooting scene, several hours after authorities released the photo of the man and an image of his silver Honda Fit and they warned the public that he was probably armed and dangerous.
Police refused to immediately identify him as a suspect, but said identifying him as a person of interest and sharing his name and other information publicly was a serious step.
Robert E Crimo has been named a person of interest in the July 4 Highland Park mass shooting
(City of Highland Park)
Mr. Crimo, whose name is Bobby, is an aspiring rapper by the stage name Awake the Rapper, who posts dozens of videos and songs on social media, some sinister and violent.
In an animated video now removed from YouTube, he raps about armies “walking in the dark” as a drawing of a man pointing a rifle, a body on the ground and another figure with his hands up in the distance appears. A rear frame shows a close-up of a chest with shedding blood and another of a police car arriving as the shooter raises his hands.
In another video, in which he appears in a classroom with a black bicycle helmet, he says that he is “like a sleepwalker. I know what I have to do, ”he adds later,“ everything has led to this. Nothing can stop me, not even myself. “
His father, Bob, a long-time charcuterie owner, unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Highland Park in 2019, calling himself “a person to the people.”
Namita Singh July 5, 2022 6:08 AM
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Cities cancel events after the shooting
Several nearby cities canceled events, such as parades and fireworks after the shooting in Highland Park. The Chicago White Sox announced on Twitter that a fireworks show scheduled after the game is canceled due to yesterday’s armed violence.
Glencoe officials said the village was canceling its July 4 parade as they urged residents to “stay home” with “the threat still at large.”
“There have been no incidents or direct threats in Glencoe. Public Safety is monitoring the situation and recommends avoiding public and crowded areas at this time,” the village tweeted.
In a nearby Deerfield, family day activities at Jewett Park were cleaned up and the parade was canceled, authorities announced on Twitter.
Police believe there was only one shooter in Highland Park. Since the facts, they have arrested a man named Robert E Crimo, identifying him as a person of interest.
Namita Singh July 5, 2022 5:54 AM
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President “shocked by senseless gun violence”
President Joe Biden said Monday that he and First Lady Jill Biden were “swept away by the senseless gun violence that has once again caused pain to an American community on this Independence Day.”
Biden signed the broader bill on armed violence passed by Congress in decades, a commitment that showed both progress on an insoluble issue for a long time and the deep partisan division that persists.
My colleague Andrew Feinberg reports:
Namita Singh July 5, 2022 5:40 AM
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Illinois Gov. ‘Furious’ attacks after mass shooting
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker criticized the American “tradition” of poor gun control after the July 4 Highland Park shooting that devastated an “American celebration.”
“It’s devastating that an American celebration has been shattered by our only American plague,” Pritzker said at a news conference.
File: Governor JB Pritzker talks with fans at Manny’s Deli in Chicago, Tuesday, June 28, 2022
(AP)
“I’m furious because it doesn’t have to be that way … while we celebrate July 4th just once a year, mass shootings have become a weekly, yes, weekly American tradition.”
Namita Singh July 5, 2022 5:27 AM
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A trail of abandoned objects
Monday’s shooting at Parkland High took place at a point along the parade route where many residents had located privileged views early in the day for the annual celebration.
Dozens of bullets fired at hundreds of people attending the parade, some visibly bleeding.
The belongings are shown left at the scene of a mass shooting along the route of a July 4, July 4, 2022 parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
(Getty Images)
They left a trail of abandoned objects that showed everyday life suddenly, violently interrupted: A half-eaten bag of chips; a box of chocolate chip cookies spilled on the grass; Chicago Cubs children’s cap.
Namita Singh July 5, 2022 5:13 AM
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“No secure space”
The July 4 shooting was the last to break the rituals of American life. With schools, churches, grocery stores and community parades becoming death grounds in recent months, the bloodshed came this time as the nation tried to find reasons to celebrate its founding.
“There’s no safe place,” said Barbara Harte, a 73-year-old Highland Park resident who had stayed away from the parade for fear of a mass shooting, but later ventured out of her home.
Law enforcement escorts a family away from the scene of a shooting in a July 4, July 4, 2022 parade in Highland Park, Illinois
(Getty Images)
“It’s definitely a lot harder when it’s not only your hometown, but you’re also in front of you,” resident Ron Tuazon said as he and a friend returned to the parade route Monday evening to retrieve chairs, blankets and a children’s bicycle he had. and his family left when the shooting began.
“It’s common now,” Tuazon said of what he called another American atrocity. “It simply came to our notice then. Until the laws change, it will be more of the same. ”
Namita Singh July 5, 2022 5:11 AM