Seven people died: On Monday, a gunman shot at spectators at a parade in the United States. Now the first charges have been announced.
The suspected gunman has been charged with seven counts of murder after the bloody deed at a US National Day parade in a suburb of Chicago. “These are just the first of many charges,” said Lake County District Attorney Eric Rinehart on Tuesday evening (local time) in the small town of Highland Park. He expects the 21-year-old suspect to be held accountable on dozens of other counts. If convicted, however, the charges of first-degree murder alone would carry a sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole.
Rinehart announced that prosecutors will apply to the court this Wednesday for the suspect to be remanded in custody without the option of bail pending a verdict. The prosecutor emphasized that more needs to be done to ensure people’s safety. He called for a nationwide ban on assault rifles, which have been used in numerous massacres in the United States, including the recent Highland Park crime. US President Joe Biden recently failed to make the same request due to resistance in Congress.
The suspected shooter disguised himself as a woman
The suspected gunman at a holiday parade in the United States had planned his act for weeks, according to new police findings. According to current knowledge, he bought his weapon, a “powerful rifle”, legally in the state of Illinois, a police spokesman said on Tuesday in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago. The young man wore typical women’s clothing during his crime in order to camouflage himself and not attract attention among the fleeing people, the police said. He fired more than 70 shots with his gun.