Mass shooting scene in Illinois. /
The killer, who also left two dozen injured, fired indiscriminately at the residents of the town of Highland Park while they were celebrating the 4th of July holiday.
A sniper stationed on a roof ended yesterday morning -seven more hours in Spain- with the lives of at least six people who participated in the Independence Day parade in Highland Park, a town of 30,000 inhabitants of the state of Illinois located about 40 kilometers from Chicago, in the northeast of the USA. The authorities confirmed that there were also at least two dozen wounded who were admitted to two health centers. “Twenty-six people have been taken to Highland Park Hospital and five to Evanston, the vast majority with gunshot wounds, although some were also injured as a result of the chaos that followed the incident.” The immediate police intervention unleashed a wild manhunt that ended hours later with the arrest of the suspect, a 22-year-old man.
Robert E. Crimo, the young man arrested. /
The gunfire ended the parade just 10 minutes after it started, broadcaster WBBM confirmed. The participants were surprised to hear up to twenty firearm detonations. Police and firefighters received the first notice of an active shooter at around 10:15 a.m. Upon arrival, multiple victims were confirmed and cardiorespiratory resuscitation maneuvers were initiated with several of them. “It looked like a war zone. People cried, screamed and nobody knew what was happening,” a witness told this local radio station.
Subsequently, videos began to circulate on social networks in which spectators of the stop were seen sitting calmly on a curb when someone shouted “shots!” and members of one of the parade bands and the public began to run to escape. Panic caused them to leave chairs, prams and shoes behind as they sought shelter.
“Get safe”
Illinois Congressman Bob Morgan, who was participating in the act, reported the shooting on his Twitter account. “I’m fine, but there are several wounded. Please stay away from the area, stay safe and pray for the injured,” he said.
Given the danger that the shooter had not yet been arrested, the authorities asked the population to avoid the area of Green Bay Street and Central Street. Meanwhile, the FBI asked that anyone with a recording of the shooting or possible information about the killer contact their offices. Officers from Highland Park and several other jurisdictions, including members of the Illinois State Police, some armed with rifles, were patrolling the area looking for the individual. Hours later, a 22-year-old white man identified as Robert E. Crimo III was arrested outside Chicago.
US President Joe Biden declared himself “shocked” by the latest episode in the “epidemic of gun violence.” “I will not stop fighting the epidemic of gun violence,” he promised. Biden last week signed the first major gun safety and control legislation in decades, just days after the Supreme Court recognized the fundamental right of Americans to bear arms.
The debate over gun control, which deeply divides society, has reignited after the two most recent massacres, that of 10 African-Americans in upstate New York and that of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school. from the town of Uvalde, Texas.
According to the Gun Violence Archive website, in 2022 there will be 309 recorded shootings in the United States, including at least three others on July 4, without victims. “It’s devastating that America’s celebration was torn apart by a uniquely American pestilence,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker told reporters.
“A day dedicated to freedom has highlighted the one freedom that as a country we refuse to defend: the freedom of our fellow citizens to live without fear of armed violence,” he said.