By Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas, Gregory Pratt, Jake Sheridan, John Byrne, Steve Sadin, Karie Angell Luc, Rosemary Sobol and Jeremy Gorner
Chicago Tribune
(TNS)
CHICAGO — More than a dozen people were shot in Highland Park Monday morning, at least five of them fatally, about 10 minutes into the northern suburb's Fourth of July parade, according to police and witnesses. The shooter had not been caught as of Monday afternoon and the area around the parade route remained an active scene.
Highland Park Police were called to the shooting shortly after 10 a.m. when the parade began. At least 16 people had been shot, officials said.
The shooter had not been located and people in the area were being advised to "shelter in place."
"Our office has been called out for a death investigation in Highland Park,'' said Steve Newton, Chief Deputy with the Lake County coroner's office.
Newton said authorities were dispatched to the public way of downtown Highland Park.
"On the street," Newton said."It's still very early in our investigation."
According to the Highland Park police Facebook page, authorities were responding to a situation in downtown Highland Park, in Lake County. The post did not specifically reference the shooting but said Fourth Fest had been canceled and asked people to "please avoid downtown Highland Park." The Lake County Sheriff's office also was responding and asked people to stay out of the area.
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering have told reporters they believe at least one person was fatally shot.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who had been attending the parade in Hyde Park, is reported to have said nine people were shot during the parade. Pritzker then left the Hyde Park parade, according to sources who were there. According to a post on his Twitter, Pritzker and his staff were "closely monitoring the situation in Highland Park."
Illinois State Police also were responding, Pritzker said, adding: "We will continue working with local officials to help those affected." Roads were blocked for approximately 1 mile surrounding the shooting scene.
Peter Kontonis of Highland Park was driving to the parade to meet his family and was approaching the parade route when he saw hundreds of people running.
"It was chaotic. At that point I started calling my family to try to find them and eventually found out they had sheltered inside a building near the route," Kontonis said. "And so I met up with some of my friends, we picked up some people we knew, because we wanted to make sure they had a ride, and we got out of there."
Video from the scene showed the chaos that unfolded in the peaceful north shore suburb. Parents sat on the curb of the parade route enjoying the marching band when the musicians suddenly started running, the instruments they had carefully worked to master held in front of them as they ran for their lives. Families rushed away from the parade route, leaving behind hundreds of empty lawn chairs, strollers, drinks and balloons.
Highland Park resident Eric Trotter described the violence that unfolded: A series of gunshots that at first sounded like fireworks, then a rush to run away. Trotter returned to the scene later, where he saw people helping the wounded and searching for family.
In the immediate aftermath, dozens of police vehicles filled the streets and officers stood on businesses' roofs wielding rifles and standing watch.
Soon, officials announced there had been a shooting, with multiple people wounded, shattering the community's sense of peace and solidarity on America's Independence Day. Nearby towns canceled their festivities as Metra halted inbound and outbound train movement near Highland Park due to the shooting. Just before noon, Glencoe canceled its Independence Day Parade and sent a text to residents telling them to remain home because the active shooter was still at large.
Schneider said he was at the parade with his campaign team when the shooting started.
"Hearing of loss of life and others injured. My condolences to the family and loved ones; my prayers for the injured and for my community; and my commitment to do everything I can to make our children, our towns, our nation safer," Schneider tweeted. "Enough is enough!
According to a post on the Village of Deerfield's page, the municipality canceled its parade and celebration as a result of the shooting in Highland Park. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot released a statement calling the incident "devastating." Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey tweeted a call for a special legislative session on crime.
"We must call a special session to address crime on our streets. We need to demand law and order and prosecute criminals," Bailey said. "We need more police on our streets to keep our families safe. Public safety must be a top priority." He notably did not mention gun control.
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