Crime
Mass casualty as active shooter unleashes terror on parade in US
The July Fourth parade at the Highland Park in the Chicago suburb ended with an active shooter pumping hot leads into the crowd on Monday.
Six people are already confirmed dead out of the 30 shot around 10 in the morning of the public holiday.
Security agents are searching for the suspect believed to have opened fire from a rooftop.
Highland Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill advised people to stay indoors until the general area is cleared.
Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli told reporters that the gunman’s rifle was recovered at the scene.
Mayor Nancy Rotering lamented that the community was “terrorized by an act of violence that has shaken it to the core”.
Rotering told a news conference that instead of celebrating freedom, the people are now mourning the tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror.
“Our hearts go out to the families of the victims at this devastating time”, Rotering added.
Illinois Governor Jay Robert Pritzker condemned the shooting in a statement.
“No words for a “monster who lies in wait and fires into a crowd of families with children celebrating a holiday,” he said.
The US has been witnessing increasing incidents of active shooting and mass casualties since January.
