New arrivalYou can now listen to Fox News articles.
Witnesses reportedly described the turmoil after a mass shooting on Monday at a parade on July 4, killing at least six people and injuring 34 in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago.
“It looked like a war zone,” Paul Chessler told ABC7 Chicago.
Chessler and his girlfriend were watching the parade around 10:14 am when a gunman placed on the roof fired.
I heard 15 to 16 fireworks that I thought were fireworks, but suddenly I started running east on Central Avenue and realized that it was a shooting. ” I was about to be trampled by dozens of people trying to get out of the way. “
Live Update: Highland Park, Illinois July 4th Parade Shooting
Highland Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill told reporters at a press conference that the main parade had just begun when shooters allegedly used powerful rifles to shoot bullets at the crowd from a nearby rooftop. rice field.
Police explained that the shootings were random, the suspects were still numerous, white men aged 18 to 20 years, long black hair and a slight physique. He left the weapon on the scene, police said.
Illinois Independence Day Parade Rushes into Chaos After Shots of Multiple People: Report
After the crowd was dispersed, Chessler and his girlfriend walked west. “Paramedics were working on at least three or four people who were shot or perhaps injured while scrambling out of the way,” he said. “You saw people absolutely afraid. People were crying.”
Alexander Sandoval (39 years old), who lives in Highland Park, Chicago Sun Times He got up before 7am and set up a lawn chair and blanket in front of the main stage of the parade for his family.
“When I saw the Navy marches and buoys passing by and first heard the gunshots, I thought they salute the flag and shoot the blank,” he said. “But then I saw people start running, and the shots went on. We started running.”
Illinois is underway four days after the July parade shooting at Highland Park.At least 6 confirmed dead
In the chaos, Sandoval and his five-year-old son fled in one direction, while his partner Amylani Garcia and her six-year-old daughter fled in the other.
“I grabbed my son and tried to break into a local building, but I couldn’t,” he told the newspaper. “I kept running and hit the alley and put his son in the trash, and he was safe.”
Video footage In the aftermath of the attack, people fled for safety and hurriedly abandoned strollers, bicycles and lawn chairs.
After the shootout had subsided, Sandoval searched for his partner and stepdaughter and found the ground littered with corpses. “I saw the shot boy being taken away,” he said. “It was just a horror.”
Gina Troiani and her five-year-old son were about to join the parade route in a day care class. He was riding a bike adorned with red and blue curled ribbons, and his classmates were holding the American flag. When the shooting started, she thought it was fireworks until someone started yelling “shooter!”.
“I’m just starting to run,” said Troiani.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Illinois Senator Julie Morrison said CBS Chicago She and her family had just entered the slope to participate in the parade when they rode a convertible and heard the popping sounds they thought were fireworks.
“Suddenly a few women started running, then it was like a wave of people. They cried, there were active archers, and people said they were shot,” she recalled. “”[It] It was like being seen in a movie. “
Law enforcement agencies are looking for suspects.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.