UPDATED: Gunman at Large after Killing at Least Six in July 4 Parade Near Chicago

July 4, 2022 12:45 pm

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. – At least six people were dead, more than 40 people were hospitalized and a gunman was at large Monday afternoon after shooting Fourth of July paradegoers from a roof in this Chicago suburb, authorities said.

Shortly after 10 a.m., as the parade in downtown Highland Park was three-quarters of the way done, the shooter atop a building began firing into the crowd, seeming to target observers, until police approached, authorities say. The gunman then escaped, leading law enforcement on a manhunt. A high-powered rifle was recovered by police. As of the afternoon, law enforcement was unsure whether the shooter remained in the city.

Five people died at the scene, and dozens of others were taken to hospitals, an unknown number of them in serious or critical condition. One person died at a hospital.

Video from the scene appeared to show blood pooled on the sidewalk; nearby, chairs, toys and blankets were strewn, left behind in a chaotic escape from gunfire.

Highland Park is an affluent suburb about 25 miles north of Chicago’s downtown, along the shore of Lake Michigan.

Police are searching for a White man, about 18 to 20 years old with a small build, long black hair and a white or blue T-shirt. Police recovered a rifle at the scene. The FBI has asked people to send tips and videos of the shooting to 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The shooter was able to climb a ladder attached to a building in the Highland Park downtown area, firing at the crowd from above, police say.

Access via the ladder in an alleyway was “unsecure,” allowing the gunman to gain access to the roof of a business, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference.

Police already at the parade quickly responded, and the gunman stopped shooting as officers approached. But the gunman fled, leading to a multiagency manhunt.

No one is in custody as of Monday afternoon, Covelli said, adding that “a very active apprehension effort is currently underway.”

The NorthShore Highland Park Hospital treated 26 patients after the shooting and the NorthShore Evanston Hospital – a Level 1 trauma center – treated five, spokesperson Jim Anthony said in a statement. He said the “vast majority” of those patients were gunshot victims.

The Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital treated eight patients from the shooting, six of whom had gunshot wounds and two of whom were injured in falls, according to spokesperson Christopher King. As of 3:30 p.m. local time, four had been released and four remained hospitalized in “a mix of good to fair condition,” King said.

The Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, also a Level 1 trauma center, was treating one patient as of 3:30 p.m. local time, according to spokesperson Julie Nakis.

Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said at a news conference that six people are confirmed dead – five adults who died on the scene and one other person who died in a hospital. The age of the victim who died at the hospital was not available, she said.

Highland Park Fire Chief Joe Schrage said crews transported 23 people to local hospitals, while others walked in to emergency rooms. At least one of those transported was a child in critical condition, he said.

“Crews were on scene very quickly, there was bystanders as well that rendered aid,” Schrage said. “They were quick to tie tourniquets and do bleeding control, which definitely assisted the fire department on scene.”

Five victims who died on the scene were all adults and their families are being notified, officials said in a news conference Monday afternoon.

Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said there was no additional information yet on the victim who died at a hospital. No other victims had been confirmed dead as of Monday evening.

President Joe Biden, who is spending the Fourth of July in Washington, D.C., said he is following the developments of “senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community.”

Biden, in a statement, said he has spoken with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D, and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, D, and offered federal support. Federal law enforcement is assisting with the search for the shooter, who remains at large.

“Members of the community should follow guidance from leadership on the ground, and I will monitor closely as we learn more about those whose lives have been lost and pray for those who are in the hospital with grievous injuries,” he said.

Biden, who signed a bipartisan gun-control bill into law, said the legislation, the most significant law of its kind in the past three decades, will save lives. But, he added, “there is much more work to do, and I’m not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence.”

David Baum, an OB/GYN at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, was at the Highland Park parade with his three children and a grandson, who had walked in the children’s parade about 30 minutes before the main event started.

He said the shooting appeared to come from the top of an apartment building on Second Street. The bangs “sounded like a howitzer” aimed at “sitting targets,” he said.

Baum said it appeared that people on the sidewalk were targeted, as opposed to those marching in the parade.

After the shooting stopped, Baum said, people “ran for their lives.”

There were bodies down and people screaming. Those who could help, many of them nurses and doctors, were applying pressure and tourniquets to the wounded. Paramedics, Baum said, quickly determined that others were dead.

“Those bullets eviscerated people,” Baum said, adding that there “was blood everywhere.”

Baum said the shooter appeared to be using an automatic weapon.

“I am an OB/GYN, not an ER doctor. . . . The injuries were horrific,” he said.

Baum said that if he had been 200 feet down the block, he probably would have been shot.

After everyone scattered, there were no bodies or injured people on the street – only on the sidewalk along the storefronts.

As local, state and federal law enforcement officers continue a manhunt for the gunman, elected officials are expressing their sorrow and offering assistance.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., called the mass shooting “absolutely terrifying.”

“Families from all over seek out this time-honored tradition on Fourth of July – and today, many found themselves running for their lives,” she said. “Every community deserves to be safe from senseless gun violence.”

Fellow Sen. Dick Durban, D-Ill., said his office is closely monitoring unfolding events after the act of “senseless violence.”

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, D, said she has been in touch with Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, D, and has offered support. Lightfoot encouraged the public to report any information they know about the shooting to authorities.

Rep. Brad Schneider, D, who represents Illinois’s 10th district that includes Highland Park, was at the parade with his campaign team when gunshots erupted.

Americans should be free to attend parades without threat of gun violence, according to Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill.

“In Highland Park, gun violence struck and traumatized a community,” she said, sending condolences to those affected.

Gabriela Martinez-Vicencio, 33, was watching the parade with her 9-year-old daughter, Nina, along Central Avenue near Second Street when she heard a quick succession of pops.

“We thought it was fireworks at first,” she said. “But as soon as I turned to my right-hand side, I looked up and saw a person shooting towards us. He was standing on top of the Ross Cosmetics building, aiming down and firing towards the crowd.”

The gunman appeared to be holding a long gun, and the shots were in quick succession. Martinez-Vicencio’s heart began to race, and she felt her legs buckle beneath her.

“Everything in me was like, ‘Run,’ but my body just betrayed me, and I fell to the ground,” she recalled.

Quickly recovering, she began looking for her daughter as the crowd around her panicked. Grabbing Nina, she threw her body over the young girl, trying to shield her as bullets hit the pavement around them. The scene was chaos: people running over one another, trying to get to safety. She and her daughter pushed their way into a nearby sporting goods store – what used to be Uncle Dan’s – where Martinez-Vicencio said she and others who had taken shelter could still hear gunfire outside.

She clutched her daughter, who was shaking, and called her ex-husband, Nina’s father, who raced to the scene to pick them up. As they waited, she kept thinking of other mass shootings, including at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. “I never thought it would happen here,” she said.

Her biggest fear in recent weeks was that she would send her daughter back to school this fall, where gunfire could erupt. But as they sheltered, Martinez-Vicencio realized that “nowhere is safe.”

Larry Bloom, 54, who has lived in Highland Park for 15 years, was walking with his bike along Central Avenue before stopping near the bandstand where the parade’s announcers were.

Bloom said he had just seen the emergency vehicles that are typically at the start of the parade and then a float for the city’s dive-rescue team when he heard a “pop, pop” sound.

At first, he thought it was part of a float display.

“Then it just opened up with just . . . bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, just a lot of bullets,” Bloom said. “And then we all just scattered.”

Bloom said he and the people around him ran toward Port Clinton Square, a nearby shopping complex.

“It felt like we were dodging bullets,” he said. “It was very confusing.”

“In the temperature of our country right now, I’m shocked that we’ve made it this long without something like this,” he said. “I remember when I finally got clear, I just felt like ‘It finally happened. It finally happened here.’ ”

Susan Isaacson, a Highland Park resident of 35 years, said she was at the parade when gunfire rang out about 10 minutes after the 10 a.m. start. She heard about 20 rapid gunshots.

“Everyone is running toward me, so I ran and took the kids into a backroom” of the Lynfred winery, she said.