Cassie Goldstein, 22, said she was watching the Fourth of July parade with her mom Katherine Goldstein, 64, in the small Chicago suburb when the chaos broke out. “I was standing there with my mum and I heard what I thought were firecrackers going off in the road in front of me. And then I looked up and I saw the shooter shooting the kids,” Cassie told NBC Nightly News’ Lester Holt in an interview Tuesday. “And I told her it was a shooter and she needed to run.” They were running together side by side when Katherine was hit by a bullet. He was shot in the chest and fell to the ground, Cassie said. “I knew she was dead,” Cassie told NBC. “I just told her I loved her, but I couldn’t stop because she was still shooting everyone around me.” Police are deployed after gunfire erupted along a Fourth of July parade route in the affluent Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois.via REUTERSMembers of the FBI’s Evidence Response Team search downtown Highland Park, Ill., the next day from a deadly mass shooting. APA A child’s bicycle is left behind after a mass shooting along a July 4th parade route in the affluent Highland Park suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Reuters The daughter’s survival instincts kicked in and she knew she had to leave her mom behind as suspected gunman Robert “Bobby” Crimmo fired more than 70 bullets into fleeing bystanders. “I just kept running and hid behind a trash can,” Cassie said. Katherine was one of seven people killed in the mass shooting. Dozens of others were injured. Crimo has since been charged with seven murders and faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted. Katherine Goldstein was one of seven victims who died during the mass shooting in Highland Park. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A heart-shaped post in honor of the seven victims who tragically lost their lives during the mass shooting in Highland Park. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Cassie said Kathryn was grieving the loss of her recently deceased mother and decided to attend the Independence Day parade as an outlet. The day before the shooting, mother and daughter had spent the day together visiting botanical gardens, eating a treat at Dairy Queen and watching a movie. “She was just a good mom. And I spent 22 years with her. And I had 22 years with the best mom in the world,” Cassie said through tears.
