At least nine people are shot at July 4th parade in affluent Chicago suburb Highland Park: Bodies lie in street as witnesses describe shooter ‘standing on roof of a store’
- WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
- The parade in Highland Park, Illinois, was suddenly halted as people ran for cover on Monday at around 10am
- Chicago Sun Times reporter was at the parade and reported seeing people covered in blood
- She shared a photo of the ‘bloodbath’ and videos from the scene which show people running for their lives
- Lake County Sheriff’s Office has not confirmed how many people were injured or if a suspect is still at large
- Highland Park is a suburban city around 30 miles north of Chicago
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At least nine people have been shot at a July 4th parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park by an unidentified attacker who opened fire on crowds and marching bands from the roof of a main-street store.
Videos and photos from the scene show blood on the sidewalk and motionless bodies scattered on the parade route. Chicago Sun Times reporter Lynn Sweet was at the parade when gunfire rang out. She has since shared photos and videos from the event which show people lying on the ground, and has described it as a ‘bloodbath’.
Since then, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has confirmed that nine people were injured.
The shooter remains at large with a frantic manhunt now underway. Witnesses told local radio station WGN that they opened fire from the roof of a local store.
Videos show the moment people watching the parade started running for their lives while a band, unaware of the unfolding horror, carried on towards them.
The bloody scene in Highland Park, Illinois, on Monday after a shooter opened fire on a Fourth of July parade shortly after 10am
The scene at Highland Park on Monday after the July 4th Parade emptied out amid reports of gunshots. Police have not yet confirmed that anyone was shot
Panicked parade goers at the scene on Monday. There were loud sounds from the crowd that some said were gunshots
The parade on Monday in Highland Park was attended by dozens of locals who sat on the sidewalk cheering as bands marched past
Highland Park Police has not yet commented on the incident but Lake County Sheriff’s Office is responding to the incident.
Highland Park is around 30 miles north of the city of Chicago and is a quiet, suburban area
Sweet tweeted: ‘Bloodbath at #Highland Park July 4th parade.. I was there’.
Miles Zaremski, who was at the parade, told CNN: ‘It was sickening. If this can happen here it can happen anywhere. To see these people in blood on the ground… how many are dead. I don’t know. Not only were police vehicles there that lead off the parade, after it occurred, there were police there.
‘Paramedic vehicles were also part of the parade…. just to hear the pop, pop, pop…. I have never seen this and I’d hope no American would ever see this.’
‘I saw 12 to 24 injuries… I saw a couple of lifeless bodies on the ground.’
In an article on The Chicago Sun Times website, she wrote: ‘Multiple people were shot. A reporter saw five people bloodied. A blanket was covering one person.’
It was sickening. If this can happen here it can happen anywhere…I saw 12 to 24 injuries… I saw a couple of lifeless bodies on the ground.’
The City of Highland Park said in a Facebook announcement: ‘Highland Park Police are responding to an incident in downtown Highland Park.
‘Fourth Fest has been canceled. Please avoid downtown Highland Park.’
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. I’m so freaked out,” she said. She said she did not see anyone injured.
