The daughter of a Highland Park mass shooting victim recalled in a new interview the horrific moment her mother was killed right in front her as the two were running from the gunfire.
Cassie Goldstein, 22, said she was watching the Fourth of July parade with her mom Katherine Goldstein, 64, in the small Chicago suburb when the chaos erupted.
“I was standing there with my mom, and I heard what I thought were firecrackers firing into the street across from me. And then I looked up and I saw the shooter shooting down at the kids,” Cassie told NBC Nightly News‘ Lester Holt in an interview Tuesday. “And I told her that it was a shooter and that she had to run.”
They were running together side by side when Katherine was hit by a bullet. She was shot in the chest and fell to the ground, Cassie said.
“I knew she was dead,” Cassie said on NBC. “I just told her that I loved her, but I couldn’t stop, because he was still shooting everyone next to me.”
The daughter’s survival instincts kicked in and she knew she had to leave her mom behind as the suspected gunman Robert “Bobby” Crimo fired more than 70 rounds at the fleeing parade attendees.
“I just kept running, and I hid behind a trash can,” Cassie said.
Katherine was one of seven people killed in the mass shooting. Dozens more were injured. Crimo has since been charged with seven murder counts and is facing the chance of life in prison if convicted.
Cassie said Katherine was mourning the loss of her own mother who recently died and decided to attend the Independence Day parade as an outlet.
The day before the shooting, the mother and daughter had spent the day together visiting botanic gardens, eating a treat at Dairy Queen and catching a movie.
“She was just a good mom. And I got 22 years with her. And I got to have 22 years with the best mom in the world,” Cassie said through tears.