A 22-year-old person of interest has been apprehended in connection with a
mass shooting Monday at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of
Highland Park, Illinois, police said.
Six people were killed and about 24 others were seriously hurt in the
shooting, according to officials.
Police said they apprehended Robert "Bobby" Crimo III during a vehicular
pursuit Monday evening after an hours-long manhunt.
PHOTO: Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III,a person of interest in the shooting at
the 4th of July parade shooting in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of
Chicago, is pictured in an undated photo released by law enforcement, July
4, 2022.
<
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FW24NV2WAAMwCS3?format=jpg&name=small>
<
https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/highland-park-chicago-parade-shooting-
person-of-interest-bobby-crimo-01-ht-llr-
220704_1656973509629_hpEmbed_16x9_992.jpg>
Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III,a person of interest in the shooting at the 4th
of July parade shooting in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, is
pictured in an undated photo released by law enforcement, July 4, 2022.
City of Highland Park
It appears the gunman fired from a roof where a high-powered rifle was
recovered, police said.
Police are describing the shooting as a "random act of violence."
PHOTO: Law enforcement search in a building after a mass shooting at the
Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago
suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, after
a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, Monday, July
4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Nam Y. Huh/AP
MORE: Before July 4th mass shooting, federal officials warned of
'heightened threat environment'
The parade was about three-quarters of the way through when the shooting
broke out, authorities said. Revelers fled in panic, leaving behind empty
strollers, overturned chairs and half-eaten sandwiches.
Police ran toward the shots but the gunman had already fled, Lake County
Sheriff Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said at a news conference.
PHOTO: Chairs and blankets sit abandoned after a shooting at a Fourth of
July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. At least six
people were killed, according to authorities.
Chairs and blankets sit abandoned after a shooting at a Fourth of July
parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. At least six people
were killed, according to authorities.
Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
PHOTO: Law enforcement search in a building after a mass shooting at the
Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago
suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search in a building after a mass shooting at the Highland
Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on
Monday, July 4, 2022.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Five people -- all adults -- died at the scene and a sixth victim died at
a hospital, said Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
One victim has been identified by family as 73-year-old Nicolas Toledo. A
Mexican national is also among the deceased, according to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Mexico.
PHOTO: Nicolas Toledo, one of the victims in the shooting at the 4th of
July parade shooting in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, is
pictured in an undated family photo.
Nicolas Toledo, one of the victims in the shooting at the 4th of July
parade shooting in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, is pictured
in an undated family photo.
Toledo Family
The NorthShore University Health System said it has a total of 31
patients; most suffered gunshot wounds and a few were hurt in the chaos.
At least one child is critically injured, Highland Park Fire Chief Joe
Schrage said.
When the gunfire erupted, parade-goer Zoe Nicole Pawelczak grabbed her dad
and started running through the sea of people.
"I saw multiple people slaughtered," she told ABC News.
MORE: Highland Park parade shooting eyewitnesses recount scary scene
"Everybody is crying. We ended up making it behind a corner and we hid
behind a dumpster. This man was there with his two very young children and
he had put them in the dumpster for safety," she said.
Pawelczak said the man wanted to leave to find his other son, and asked
her to watch the two children in the dumpster.
"So I watched his kids for him," she said. "They were like, 'What's going
on?' And I was like, 'It's just fireworks, it's OK,' just trying to keep
them calm."
PHOTO: First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July
parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. At least six people
were killed, according to authorities.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade
on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. At least six people were
killed, according to authorities.
Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
Dr. David Baum was watching his grandson, daughter and son-in-law march in
the parade when the gunfire began.
"Bodies were horribly, horribly, horribly injured from, you know, guns and
bullets that were made for war -- not for parades," Baum said of some of
the victims.
"The paramedics went quickly and assessed the damages -- saw bodies that
were blown apart and put a blanket over them quickly. And then went on to
try and help other people," he told ABC News. 典hese are injuries that
nobody should have to see."
PHOTO: First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July
parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. At least six people
were killed, according to authorities.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade
on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. At least six people were
killed, according to authorities.
Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
MORE: America's gun violence problem by the numbers
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., who was at the parade, tweeted that he's
committing himself "to do everything I can to make our children, our
towns, our nation safer. Enough is enough!"
Police are asking anyone who was at the parade to review their videos and
share them with authorities.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has agents on
scene and is conducting an urgent trace on the recovered gun, according to
a law enforcement source.
PHOTO: First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July
parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. At least six people
were killed, according to authorities.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade
on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. At least six people were
killed, according to authorities.
Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
MORE: Biden shares 'shock' at July 4th parade mass shooting: 'More work to
do' to stop gun violence
The neighboring suburb of Evanston canceled its own Fourth of July parade
in the wake of the shooting, Evanston police said.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he "surged Federal law
enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter."
"Members of the community should follow guidance from leadership on the
ground, and I will monitor closely as we learn more about those whose
lives have been lost and pray for those who are in the hospital with
grievous injuries," Biden said.
PHOTO: A police officer investigates the scene as he walks in downtown
Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, Monday, July 4, 2022, where a
mass shooting took place at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade.
A police officer investigates the scene as he walks in downtown Highland
Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, Monday, July 4, 2022, where a mass
shooting took place at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade.
Tannen Maury/EPA-EFE via Shutterstock
He noted that he recently signed into law the most significant gun control
legislation in decades, adding, "But there is much more work to do, and
I'm not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence."
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement, "On what should be a
celebratory day with family and friends, we are grieving the lives that
were taken in another act of senseless gun violence."
"More should be done to address gun violence in our country," she said.
"President Biden recently signed into law the first major bipartisan gun
reform legislation in almost 30 years -- and we will continue fighting to
end this senseless violence."
PHOTO: Police tape hangs at corner of Central Avenue and Green Bay Rd., in
Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, Monday, July 4, 2022, after a mass
shooting at Highland Park Fourth of July parade.
Police tape hangs at corner of Central Avenue and Green Bay Rd., in
Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, Monday, July 4, 2022, after a mass
shooting at Highland Park Fourth of July parade.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
MORE: Biden signs bipartisan gun safety package into law
In an impassioned statement Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said, "There are no
words for the kind of monster who lives in wait and fires into a crowd of
families with children celebrating a holiday with their community. There
are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes,
their dreams, their futures."
"Prayers alone will not put a stop to the terror of rampant gun violence
in our country," the governor wrote. "We must -- and we will -- end this
plague of gun violence."
Representatives of the gun reform group March For Our Lives, founded by
survivors of the 2018 high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, said
in a statement, "Just three weeks ago, young people organized a March For
Our Lives in Highland Park, along with communities across the country."
"We are grieving for the horrific loss of life in Highland Park, and the
carnage brought on by a high-powered rifle," they said. "We wish eternal
peace for those who were murdered, and we will fight like hell for the
living."
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is among the leaders reacting to the nation's
latest mass shooting, tweeting, "Not even a parade on the Fourth of July
celebrating our nation痴 independence is immune from our nation痴 gun
violence epidemic. Tomorrow, I will sign seven sweeping commonsense gun
safety bills into law. We cannot wait."
The Chicago White Sox announced plans to hold a moment of silence before
Monday night's game against the Minnesota Twins, and have canceled the
postgame fireworks.
MORE: March For Our Lives recap: Frustrated Americans rally for gun reform
across US
Law enforcement has long been concerned about gunmen firing from elevated
positions, which police say can give them a strategic advantage.
The deadliest example of that is the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, during which
the shooter took up a window position in the Mandalay Bay hotel. Fifty-
nine people were killed in what became the deadliest mass shooting in
modern U.S. history.
In the wake of the Vegas massacre, law enforcement around the country
placed a greater emphasis on securing elevated locations surrounding
public events, but police have acknowledged how daunting a task it is to
secure all such positions.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News' Josh Margolin, Alex Perez, Jack Date, Will McDuffie and Caroline
Guthrie contributed to this report.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/shooting-reported-4th-july-parade-chicago-
suburb-highland/story?id=86186529