During the parade in honor of the US Independence Day in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, an unidentified man opened fire. It is known about 6 dead and at least 36 injured. Reuters writes that the shooter opened fire with a rifle at the parade participants from the roof.
The shooter initially managed to escape the scene of the crime, but a few hours later the police announced the arrest of a 22-year-old suspect. It turned out to be Robert E. Crimo III. His motives have yet to be revealed, but Crimo's alleged social media accounts often contained images or messages of violence.
One of the victims of the shooting was 70-year-old Nicholas Toledo. His granddaughter revealed on social media that Toledo was the father of 8 children. "A day that was supposed to be a fun family holiday turned into a terrible nightmare for all of us."
Police believe there was only one shooter.
US President Joe Biden reacted to the incident and recalled the law to tighten the circulation of firearms in the country, which he signed in May. The bill strengthens background checks on gun buyers under the age of 21, and also bans the sale of guns to those who have previously been convicted of domestic violence for 5 years. This is the first major gun reform in the US in 30 years.
"I'm not going to give up on fighting the epidemic of gun violence," Biden said after the tragedy in suburban Chicago.
The law was signed into law in May, following two major shooting incidents. One of them happened in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. On May 15, an 18-year-old teenager killed 10 people, and three more were injured. According to authorities, the crime was motivated by racial hatred. The shooter was armed with an automatic rifle, a guard tried to shoot him, but the attacker also killed him. A few days later, on May 24, an armed 18-year-old teenager opened fire at an elementary school in Uwalde, Texas. As a result, 19 children and 2 adults died, 10 people were hospitalized with injuries. The assailant, a local resident, Salvador Romas, was shot dead, he was a high school student of the same school.