Highland Park Police Chief Chris O’Neill, the incident commander at the scene, urged people to stay put as authorities search for the suspect, described as a white male wearing a white or blue T-shirt. Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference that the gunman apparently opened fire on the marchers from a rooftop using a rifle found at the scene. He didn’t know which building. Coveli said police believe there was only one shooter and warned he should be considered armed and dangerous. Police have not released details of casualties or injuries. Abandoned items are seen after a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park on Monday. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images) The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the parade began around 10 a.m. local time, but stopped abruptly 10 minutes later after shots were fired. A Sun-Times reporter saw blankets placed over three bloody bodies. Several witnesses told the newspaper they heard gunshots. Hundreds of marchers — some visibly covered in blood — left the parade route, leaving behind chairs, baby carriages and blankets. Police told people: “Everyone disperse, please. It is not safe to be here.” Highland Park police said in a statement early Monday afternoon that five people were killed and 19 people were taken to hospitals, but those numbers were revised immediately afterward at a news conference.
Witnesses describe ‘chaos’
Video taken by a Sun-Times reporter after the shots rang out shows a band on a float continuing to play as people run past them screaming. A photo posted on social media appeared to show pools of blood near overturned chairs in downtown Highland Park. Gina Troiani and her son lined up with her kindergarten class ready to walk the parade route when she heard a loud sound she thought were fireworks — until she heard people yelling for a shooter. Police are seen along the parade route in Highland Park on Monday. (ABC affiliate WLS/Reuters) “We’re just starting to run in the opposite direction,” he told The Associated Press. Her five-year-old son rode his bicycle, decorated with red and blue curved ribbons. He and other kids on the team held small American flags. The city said on its website that the festivities would include a parade of bicycles and pets for children. Troiani said she pushed her son’s bike, running through the neighborhood to get back to their car. Highland Park residents are seen following the shooting Monday. Residents were told by police to evacuate the area as authorities search for the suspect. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images) In a video Troiani shot on her phone, some of the children are visibly startled by the loud noise and scrambling to the side of the road as a siren wails nearby. “It was just kind of a mess,” he said. “There were people who were separated from their families, looking for them. Others just dropped their wagons, grabbed their children and started running.” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a tweet that he is “closely monitoring the situation in Highland Park” and that Illinois State Police are assisting. The ISP said in an email that it was helping to respond to an active shooter reported around 10:24 a.m. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter that it was assisting Highland Park police “with shots fired in the area of the Independence Day parade route.” The sheriff’s office asked an Associated Press reporter to contact Highland Park police. The police department said no one was immediately available to comment. Highland Park resident Debbie Glickman said she was in a parade with colleagues 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 Associated Press. “So we just ran. We just ran. It’s like mass chaos down there.” He didn’t hear any noises or see anyone who looked injured. “I’m so terrified,” she said. “It’s so sad.”
