July 4 parade shooting in Chicago: 6 killed, 36 injured as police take 22-year-old suspect into custody

Police can be seen surrounding a car and then Crimo exiting the vehicle with his hands raised, according to a video by the Chicago affiliate of ABC News. Crimo lies flat on the ground before police take him into custody. Charges will be filed, Highland Park Police said.

This undated handout photo provided by the City of Highland Park Police Department shows Robert (Bobby) E Crimo III. (City of Highland Park Police Department via AP)

Officials told a news conference that six people were killed and 24 taken to hospital, and that a rifle was recovered from the scene.

“Law enforcement agencies are searching for the suspect; evidence of a firearm has been recovered,” the city of Highland Park reported on its website. “Numerous law enforcement officers are responding and have secured a perimeter around downtown Highland Park.”

The shooting comes with gun violence fresh on the minds of Americans, after massacres killed 19 school children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the attack that killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York https://t.co/dRtybG4Yju pic.twitter.com/FDWaOTFGvC

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 4, 2022

The shooting comes with gun violence fresh on the minds of many Americans, after a massacre on May 24 killed 19 school children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the May 14 attack that killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

Witness Amarani Garcia, who was at the parade with her young daughter, told the local ABC affiliate she heard gunfire nearby, then a pause for what she suspected was reloading, and then more shots again.

We are assisting Highland Park Police with a shooting in the area of the Independence Day parade route. STAY OUT OF THE AREA – allow law-enforcement and first responders to do their work. pic.twitter.com/PTut6CGZAe

— Lake County Sheriff (@LakeCoILSheriff) July 4, 2022

There were “people screaming and running. It was just really traumatising,” Garcia said. “I was very terrified. I hid with my daughter actually in a little store. It just makes me feel like we’re not safe anymore.”

Witnesses said they believed the shooter was on the roof of a store and fired into the crowd, WGN television reported.

Social media video showed a marching band in the parade suddenly breaking formation and running away, and a Chicago Sun-Times columnist posted a picture of a pool of blood at the foot of a bench.

People fled the scene upon hearing several loud bangs, CBS 2 television of Chicago reported, citing a producer who was at the parade.

“Everyone was running, hiding and screaming,” the channel’s website reported CBS 2 Digital Producer Elyssa Kaufman saying.