Six People Killed And 25 Injured In The Shooting Of The US Independence Anniversary Parade July 4, Police Pocket The Identity Of The Perpetrators

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Tony Webster)

JAKARTA - Six people were killed and at least two dozen injured when a man with a high-powered rifle opened fire from a rooftop at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday.

Police said they had identified a person with an interest in the shooting, 22-year-old Robert E Crimo III, who was from the area. They say he drives a silver 2010 Honda Fit.

"He is considered armed and dangerous," sheriff's department spokesman Christopher Covelli told reporters, adding that people should not approach him if they saw him.

Officials said a rifle was recovered from the scene. At least 26 people were injured, 25 with gunshot wounds, including four or five children. A hospital spokesman said those injured were aged between 8 and 85.

At least one of those killed was a Mexican national, a senior Mexican Foreign Ministry official said on Twitter.

The shooting extends the list of armed mussels in the United States, following the May 24 massacre that killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Earlier, there was a May 14 attack that killed 10 people at a grocery store. in Buffalo, New York.

Children waving American flags, riding tricycles or enjoying rides in carts pulled by adults fell silent as people in the crowd screamed while gunfire rang out, videos on social media showed.

One cell phone video, seen but not verified by Reuters, recorded what was heard to be about 30 quick shots, a pause, and then about 30 more shots. Between the two explosions, a woman can be heard saying from the side of the parade route: "Oh my God, what happened?"

Social media videos show a marching band suddenly breaking formation and fleeing, and other images of people abandoning their belongings as they seek safety.

"Everyone was running, hiding and screaming," said CBS 2 Digital Producer Elyssa Kaufman, who was at the scene.

A 36-year-old Highland Park native who wished to be identified only as Sara, told Reuters she had attended the annual parade for nearly years since her childhood.

"Not even five minutes later, shortly after, the police and fire trucks part of the parade passing by, I heard 'pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,'" he said, adding that he first thought they were shotguns. used in parades.

"I looked and there was no gun. It wouldn't stop, it was again 'pop, pop, pop, pop, pop' and I turned around and I said 'that's gunfire, run!'”

The population of Highland Park is 30,000 and nearly 90 percent white, according to the US Census Bureau. About a third of the population is Jewish, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Police said the gunman was still at large.

"He could be in the city. He could be somewhere else," Covelli had said earlier.

He said the shooting occurred from the roof of the building, which the gunman reached via an alley staircase attached to an unsafe building.

Police asked the public for tips and cell phone pictures and CCTV footage to help find them. They have no motive for the shooting.

The shooting is likely to reignite America's debate about gun control, and whether stricter measures could prevent mass shootings that often occur in the United States.

Separately, President Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill were "shocked by the senseless gun violence that has once again brought sorrow to the American community this Independence Day."

President Biden said he had "stepped up federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter."

In his statement, President Biden referred to the bipartisan gun reform law he signed recently, but said more needed to be done and added: "I will not give up fighting the gun violence epidemic."