(CNN Spanish) — A day that should have been a celebration in the United States turned into a tragedy due to a new shooting. On Monday, July 4, Independence Day, a gunman killed six people and injured dozens more at a parade in Highland Park, Illinois, near Chicago.
According to police, the suspected attacker was identified as Robert E. Crimo III, who reportedly used a “high-powered rifle” in an attack that appeared to be “random” and “intentional.” Authorities believe the man, arrested later Monday, climbed onto the roof of a business and opened fire on the parade about 20 minutes after it began.
The Highland Park shooting only aggravates and makes more explicit the problem of gun violence in the United States. In the last 186 days, there have been more than 300 mass shootings in the country, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization that tracks such incidents.
Victims of the Illinois shooting
Among the six people killed, five died at the scene and one in the hospital, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
So far these are the victims that have been identified. We will be updating this list when we have more information.
Jacki Sundheim, former elementary school teacher
Jacki Sundheim she was identified by her synagogue as one of the six people killed. The Israel Congregation of the North Coast, in Glencoe (Illinois), said in a statement that Sundheim was a lifelong synagogue member and staff member who had been a preschool teacher and event coordinator.
The Mexican Nicholas Toledo
An official from the state of Morelos, Mexico, confirmed to CNN that Nicolás Toledo, 78, is one of the victims of the shooting in Highland Park, Illinois.
Six of Toledo’s eight children live in the United States. One of them was injured in the shooting, as were two other members of the family. However, all are out of danger, according to state authorities after maintaining communication with relatives.
The Toledo family hopes to be able to repatriate the body to Morelos. State and federal authorities are working to support the family with the process, according to a statement published Tuesday.
the wounded
Also, 26 patients were received at Highland Park Hospital, said Dr. Brigham Temple, medical director of NorthShore University Health System. The injured were aged between 8 and 85 years; four or five patients were children, Temple said.
Of the 26 people treated, 25 had gunshot wounds. And, of those 25 patients, 19 were treated and discharged. There were gunshot wounds to extremities as well as more central parts of the body, Temple added.