Police have arrested the suspect in the shooting that left at least six people dead and 26 injured on Monday during a parade near Chicago for the American national holiday on July 4.
A white man, aged around 20, is suspected of having opened fire around 10:15 a.m. local time (5:15 p.m. in Switzerland) on the crowd gathered for the festivities in Highland Park, on the shores of Lake Michigan, before fleeing . The festivities have been suspended in this affluent suburb of Chicago and in several surrounding towns.
Residents urged to remain on high alert
“As we gathered to celebrate our freedom, we must mourn the tragic loss of life and overcome our terror,” city mayor Nancy Rotering said at a press conference. “At present, we know that at least six people have died” and “that 24 have been taken to hospital”, she added, calling on her fellow citizens to remain “in a state of alert but calm”.
Earlier, a Chicago Sun Times reporter reported seeing three bloodied bodies under blankets and several injured. The governor of the state of Illinois JB Pritzker had indicated for his part on the chain WGN to have information on “nine people affected”.
The man had posted himself on the roof of a business, sowing panic before fleeing. Police had identified a 22-year-old suspect “from the area”. She had released the photo of a diaphanous young man, with an emaciated and tattooed face.
>> The images after the shooting in Highland Park
“Be very vigilant, this person is on the run,” warned one of his spokespersons. “She is considered armed and very dangerous.”
A “quasi-military” modus operandi
The shooting broke out as hundreds of people gathered to watch the traditional July 4th parade, which celebrates the declaration of independence of the United States in 1776.
After a brief car chase, the suspect was arrested “without incident”, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen told reporters Monday evening.
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