POLITICS
6 dead, 30 hurt in shooting at Chicago-area July
4 parade
Police said an officer briefly chased Robert E. Crimo
III as he drove about five miles north of where the shooting occurred before
the man pulled over and was taken into custody.
By
ASSOCIATED PRESS
07/04/2022
01:57 PM EDT
HIGHLAND
PARK, Ill. (AP) — A gunman on a rooftop opened fire on an Independence Day
parade in suburban Chicago on Monday, killing at least six people, wounding at
least 30 and sending hundreds of marchers, parents with strollers and children
on bicycles fleeing in terror, police said.
Authorities
said a 22-year-old man named as a person of interest in the shooting was taken
into police custody Monday evening after an hourslong manhunt.
The July 4
shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life. Schools,
churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing
grounds in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to
find cause to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together.
“It is
devastating that a celebration of America was ripped apart by our uniquely
American plague,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a news conference.
“I’m
furious because it does not have to be this way... while we celebrate the Fourth
of July just once a year, mass shootings have become a weekly — yes, weekly —
American tradition.”
The
shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked
out prime viewing points early in the day for the annual celebration. Dozens of
fired bullets sent hundreds of parade-goers — some visibly bloodied — fleeing.
They left a trail of abandoned items that showed everyday life suddenly,
violently disrupted: A half-eaten bag of potato chips; a box of chocolate
cookies spilled onto the grass; a child’s Chicago Cubs cap.
“There’s no
safe place,” said Highland Park resident Barbara Harte, 73, who had stayed away
from the parade fearing a mass shooting, but later ventured from her home.
Highland
Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said a police officer pulled over 22-year-old
Robert E. Crimo III about five miles north of the shooting scene, several hours
after police released the man’s photo and an image of his silver Honda Fit, and
warned the public that he was likely armed and dangerous.
Police
declined to immediately identify Crimo as a suspect but said identifying him as
a person of interest, sharing his name and other information publicly was a
serious step.
Lake County
Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference
“several of the deceased victims” died at the scene and one was taken to a
hospital and died there. Police have not released details about the victims or
wounded.
Lake County
Coroner Jennifer Banek said the five people killed at the parade were adults,
but didn’t have information on the sixth victim who was taken to a hospital and
died there. One of those killed was a Mexican national, Roberto Velasco,
Mexico’s director for North American affairs, said on Twitter Monday. He said
two other Mexicans were wounded.
NorthShore
University Health Center received 26 patients after the attack. All but one had
gunshot wounds, said Dr. Brigham Temple, medical director of emergency
preparedness. Their ages ranged from 8 to 85, and Temple estimated that four or
five patients were children.
Temple said
19 of them were treated and discharged. Others were transferred to other
hospitals, while two patients, in stable condition, remained at the Highland
Park hospital.
The shooter
opened fire around 10:15 a.m., when the parade was about three-quarters
through, authorities said.
Highland
Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill, the incident commander on scene, said the
gunman apparently used a “high-powered rifle” to fire from a spot atop a
commercial building where he was “very difficult to see.” He said the rifle was
recovered at the scene. Police also found a ladder attached to the building.
“Very
random, very intentional and a very sad day,” Covelli said.
President
Joe Biden on Monday said he and first lady Jill Biden were “shocked by the
senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American
community on this Independence Day.” He said he had “surged Federal law
enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter, who remains at
large at this time.”
Biden
signed the widest-ranging gun violence bill passed by Congress in decades, a
compromise that showed at once both progress on a long-intractable issue and
the deep-seated partisan divide that persists.
Police
believe there was only one shooter but warned that he should still be
considered armed and dangerous. Several nearby cities canceled events including
parades and fireworks, some of them noting that the Highland Park shooter was
still at large. Evanston, Deerfield, Skokie, Waukegan and Glencoe canceled
events. The Chicago White Sox also announced on Twitter that a planned
post-game fireworks show is canceled due to the shooting.
More than
100 law enforcement officers were called to the parade scene or dispatched to
find the suspected shooter.
More than a
dozen police officers on Monday evening surrounded a home listed as an address
for Crimo in Highland Park. Some officers held rifles as they fixed their eyes
on the home. A large armored truck, marked “Police Rescue Vehicle,” occupied
the middle of the road near the residence. Police blockaded roads leading to
the home in a tree-lined neighborhood near a golf course, allowing only select
law enforcement cars through a tight outer perimeter.
Highland Park
is a close-knit community of about 30,000 people located on the shores of Lake
Michigan just north of Chicago, with mansions and sprawling lakeside estates
that have long drawn the rich and sometimes famous, including NBA legend
Michael Jordan, who lived in the city for years when he played for the Chicago
Bulls. John Hughes filmed parts of several movies in the city, including
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Sixteen Candles” and “Weird Science.”
Pritzker, a
Democrat, promised support for the community as well as to bring gunman to
justice.
“There are
no words for the kind of evil that shows up at a public celebration of freedom,
hides on a roof and shoots innocent people with an assault rifle,” Pritzker
said.
Ominous
signs of a joyous event suddenly turned to horror filled both sides of Central
Avenue where the shooting occurred. Dozens of baby strollers — some bearing
American flags, abandoned children’s bikes and a helmet bedecked with images of
Cinderella were left behind. Blankets, lawn chairs, coffees and water bottles
were knocked over as people fled.
Gina
Troiani and her son were lined up with his daycare class ready to walk onto the
parade route when she heard a loud sound that she believed was fireworks —
until she heard people yell about a shooter. In a video that Troiani shot on
her phone, some of the kids are visibly startled at the loud noise, and they
scramble to the side of the road as a siren wails nearby.
“We just
start running in the opposite direction,” she told The Associated Press.
Her
5-year-old son was riding his bike decorated with red and blue curled ribbons.
He and other children in the group held small American flags. The city said on
its website that the festivities were to include a children’s bike and pet
parade.
Troiani said
she pushed her son’s bike, running through the neighborhood to get back to
their car.
“It was
just sort of chaos,” she said. “There were people that got separated from their
families, looking for them. Others just dropped their wagons, grabbed their kids
and started running.”
Debbie
Glickman, a Highland Park resident, said she was on a parade float with
coworkers and the group was preparing to turn onto the main route when she saw
people running from the area.
“People
started saying: ‘There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter, there’s a shooter,’”
Glickman told the AP. “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.”
___
Foody
contributed from Chicago. Associated Press writers Mike Balsamo in New York,
David Koenig in Dallas, Jeff Martin in Woodstock, Georgia and Fabiola Sánchez
in Monterrey, Mexico contributed reporting.
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