A gunman on a rooftop opened fire on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago on Monday, killing at least six people, wounding 26 and sending hundreds of marchers, parents with strollers and children on bicycles fleeing in terror, police said. The suspect remained on the loose hours later as authorities scoured the area.
Highland Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill, the incident commander on scene, urged people to shelter in place as authorities search for the suspect. He said Monday afternoon that a “very active apprehension effort” was underway.
The July 4 shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months.
This horrific shooting comes nearly two weeks after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a New York law that regulated who is allowed to carry a concealed weapon in public, expanding gun rights nationwide at a time when the country is reeling from a series of recent mass shooting.
This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to find cause to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together.
Leaders in the tri-state area also shared their reaction to the horrific shooting. Here's what they say:
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PRESIDENT, TRI-STATE LEADERS REACT
President Joe Biden last month signed the widest-ranging gun violence bill passed by Congress in decades, a compromise that showed at once both progress on a long-intractable issue and the deep-seated partisan divide that persists.
Biden on Monday said he and first lady Jill Biden were “shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day.” He said he had “surged Federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter, who remains at large at this time.”
Biden's full statement reads:
"Jill and I are shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day. As always, we are grateful for the first responders and law enforcement on the scene. I have spoken to Governor Pritzker and Mayor Rotering, and have offered the full support of the Federal government to their communities. I also surged Federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter, who remains at large at this time. 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.
I recently signed the first major bipartisan gun reform legislation in almost thirty years into law, which includes actions that will save lives. But there is much more work to do, and I’m not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said, "we must put an end to gun violence."
Hochul has been working toward approving gun control measures, particularly following the Supreme Court's decision last month, which prompted her to call a special legislative session.
This special legislative session lead to New York lawmakers approving a sweeping overhaul Friday of the state’s handgun licensing rules, seeking to preserve some limits on firearms after the Supreme Court ruled that most people have a right to carry a handgun for personal protection.
The measure, signed by Hochul after passing both chambers by wide margins, is almost sure to draw more legal challenges from gun rights advocates who say the state is still putting too many restrictions on who can get guns and where they can carry them.
Hochul, a Democrat, called the Democrat-controlled Legislature back to Albany to work on the law after last week’s high-court ruling overturning the state’s longstanding licensing restrictions.
Backers said the law, which takes effect Sept. 1, strikes the right balance between complying with the Supreme Court’s ruling and keeping weapons out of the hands of people likely to use them recklessly or with criminal intent.
Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said he "will sign seven sweeping commonsense gun safety bills into law. We cannot wait."
For his part, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has been very vocal about the gun violence epidemic in the country, and even testified before Congress, said that the shooting is "a tragic reminder that our right to life and liberty will be at risk so long as we continue to allow illegal guns and violent gunmen to go unchecked...the time for real action on gun safety is NOW."
Aside from testifying before Congress on gun violence, Adams, a former NYPD captain, alongside New York Attorney General Letitia James filed lawsuits last week against numerous online gun distributors for fueling the gun violence crisis.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said the incident once again had the nation "witness the suffering wrought by one of our most horrifying demons."
New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-NY) called the shooting a "uniquely American horror of a mass shooting."
In her tweet, Stewart-Cousins went on to call on the country "to break our country's bizarre bond to weapons of war."
Former U.S. Attorney for the South District of New York, Preet Bharara, simply tweeted: "Another community shattered. First hope is that shooter is captured soon."
This is a developing story.
