On Monday morning (local time) there was another bloody crime in the USA! Shots were fired in the town of Highland Park near Chicago, Illinois. This during a parade on the occasion of the national holiday with many spectators. Panic broke out among the people.
“Stay out of the area — let the police and first responders do their job,” the Lake County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Twitter.
Six people were reportedly fatally injured and 30 others hospitalized. According to eyewitnesses, 20 to 25 shots were heard, writes “CNN”.
Did the man shoot from a roof?
Peter Kotonis was on his way to the parade to meet his family and was approaching the parade route when he saw hundreds of people running. “It was chaotic. I called my family to find out where they were. They were holed up in a building near the route,” the man told the Chicago Tribune.
It is not known who fired the shots in the Highland Park parade. The shooter has not yet been caught. The suspect is described as a white male between the ages of 18 and 20. A gun was found at the crime scene. According to authorities, the shooter may have shot from a roof.
Biden promises reforms
TV pictures showed people fleeing. The mayor of Highland Park urged people to stay away from downtown. The July 4th festival has been cancelled.
“At 10:14 am this morning, our community was terrorized by an act of violence that shocked us deeply,” Mayor Nancy Rotering said.
US President Joe Biden said he was “shocked by the senseless gun violence that has once again brought grief to an American community on Independence Day.” His statement said: “I will not give up the fight against the epidemic of gun violence.” Biden and his Democrats have long called for tougher gun laws. Far-reaching reforms repeatedly fail due to opposition from Republicans in Congress and the influence of the powerful gun lobby organization NRA.
Major violence problem in the USA
The US has long struggled with massive levels of gun violence. At the end of May, an 18-year-old gunman massacred a Texas elementary school. He had killed 19 children and two teachers in the small town of Uvalde before being shot dead by the police.
The crime had rekindled the discussion about stricter gun laws in the USA. Firearms are relatively easy to obtain in the United States. (man)