Police have arrested person of interest after a gunman killed six people at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.
First responders work the scene of the shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. Photo: AFP / Getty Images
Police said 22-year-old Robert E Crimo III, who was from the area, was arrested after a brief chase. They said he was driving a silver 2010 Honda Fit automobile.
"He is considered armed and dangerous," sheriff's department spokesperson Christopher Covelli had told journalists, adding that people should not approach him if they see him.
Five people died at the scene and the local coroner said a further victim died in hospital. At least two dozen people were injured in the shooting.
Officials said a rifle was recovered from the scene and the gunman had been firing from a roof. Police had earlier described the suspect as a white man, aged 18-20, who appeared to have targeted the parade's attendees at random with a high-powered rifle.
Authorities told CNN Crimo was spotted by a North Chicago officer who attempted to initiate a traffic stop. Crimo then fled and led officers on a brief pursuit before being stopped in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Police crime tape around abandoned children's bicycles and baby strollers after the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. Photo: AFP / Youngrae Kim
During the hours-long hunt, those living near the scene were advised to shelter in place, nearby suburbs went into lockdown, beaches were evacuated and local parades and fireworks shows cancelled.
Chris Covelli from the Lake County major crime task force said a high-powered rifle was used and the shooter's rooftop location had made him difficult to see.
"All indications is he was discreet; he was very difficult to see," he said.
Police were working with the FBI and there were more than 100 law enforcement officers on the scene, he said. Investigators were also combing through social media for information.
Robert "Bobby" E. Crimo III. Photo: AFP / Handout / City of Highland Park
One hospital spokesperson said there were 31 injured. Staff at NorthShore Highland Park Hospital in Highland Park were treating 26 people and five were transported to NorthShore Evanston Hospital, spokesperson Jim Anthony said.
"The vast majority suffered gunshot wounds. Remaining individuals sustained injuries as a result of chaos at the parade," Anthony said.
In a statement, US president Joe Biden condemned the shooting.
"Jill and I are shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day," Biden said. "I have spoken to Governor Pritzker and Mayor Rotering, and have offered the full support of the Federal government to their communities. I also surged Federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter."
"Our community was terrorised by an act of violence that has shaken us to our core. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims during this devastating time," Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering told a news conference.
Law enforcement officers at the scene. Photo: AFP
The suspected shooter opened fire at the parade at around 10.15am local time, just a few minutes after it began. The event was scheduled to include floats, marching bands, and community entertainment as part of the city's Independence Day celebrations.
Witness Amarani Garcia, who was at the parade with her young daughter, told the local ABC affiliate she heard gunfire nearby, then a pause for what she suspected was reloading, and then more shots.
There were "people screaming and running. It was just really traumatising," Garcia said. "I was very terrified. I hid with my daughter actually in a little store. It just makes me feel like we're not safe anymore."
Local resident Miles Zaremski told the Chicago Sun-Times: "I heard 20 to 25 shots, which were in rapid succession. So it couldn't have been just a handgun or a shotgun."
Speaking to local television station WGN, a witness called Michael said: "Immediately to the left of us he started shooting again and a woman went down."
Witnesses said they believed the shooter was on the roof of a store and fired into the crowd, WGN television reported.
People fled the scene upon hearing several loud bangs, CBS 2 television of Chicago reported, citing a producer who was at the parade. "Everyone was running, hiding and screaming," the channel's website reported CBS 2 Digital Producer Elyssa Kaufman saying.
Photo: AFP / Getty Images
The shooting comes with gun violence fresh on the minds of many Americans, after a massacre on 24 May killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the 14 May attack that killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
"There are no words for the kind of monster who lies in wait and fires into a crowd of families with children celebrating a holiday with their community," Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said in a statement.
"Grief will not bring the victims back, and prayers alone will not put a stop to the terror of rampant gun violence in our country," Pritzker said. "I will stand firm with Illinoisans and Americans: we must - and we will - end this plague of gun violence.
The US Senate last month passed gun safety measures tightening background checks for would-be gun purchasers convicted of domestic violence or significant crimes as juveniles. Though limited in scope, the legislation was the first significant gun control legislation to pass in three decades.
Republicans refused to compromise on more sweeping gun control measures favoured by Democrats including President Biden, such as a ban on assault-style rifles or high-capacity magazines.
- Reuters / BBC