5 Killed In Shooting At A Fourth Of July Parade In A Chicago Suburb
A gunman began firing from the roof of a retail store into the parade below just minutes after the celebrations began, as per local reports.
Five people were killed and at least 16 hospitalized after gunfire erupted at a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb today, authorities said. A gunman began firing from the roof of a retail store into the parade below just minutes after the celebrations began, as per local reports.
A video on social media shows parade participants suddenly fleeing in panic as shots were fired in the streets of Highland Park, an affluent suburban city. Families are seen sitting on a sidewalk watching the parade. In the next frame, they are seen leaping up from the ground and running, a voice yelling “gunshots” can be heard in the background.
The shooting happened “in the area of the Independence Day parade route,” the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, which is responsible for the area that includes Highland Park.
The city of Highland Park announced that all July 4 festivities had been canceled as a result. “Highland Park Police are responding to an incident in downtown Highland Park. All 4th of July events have been canceled. Please avoid downtown Highland Park. Take shelter if in downtown HP. More information will be shared as it becomes available,” its post on Facebook read.
Firearms cause approximately 40,000 deaths a year in the United States, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.
The debate over gun control — a deeply divisive issue in the country — was reignited by two massacres in May that saw 10 Black supermarket shoppers gunned down in upstate New York and 21 people, mostly young children, killed at an elementary school in Texas.
