“It was terrifying”: Illinois Highland Park July 4 parade attendees open up about mass shooting

A mass shooting incident during the July 4 parade in Illinois left at least 24 people injured and six dead. The incident took place in the central business district of Highland Park, a suburb of Illinois.

The gunman, identified as 22-year-old Robert E. Crimo, opened fire on a crowd from a nearby rooftop. Kristen Carlson, a parade attendee, described the scene of the crime as:

"People just ran, and they just left their stuff, and it was terrifying.."

Authorities said that a firearm and a high-powered rifle were secured from him at the scene.

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Illinois parade attendees reveal their horrifying experience

Emerging reports recorded the reaction of witnesses present at the scene of the shooting.

Zoe Pawelczak, one of the eyewitnesses from the scene, talked about how she saw a person getting shot:

"One man had been shot in the head -- like, his ear. He was bleeding all over his face, there was another girl that got escorted out, (who) was shot in the leg."

She also described the ordeal of a father looking for his children:

"A man actually went at one point to find his son and he asked me to watch his kids, so we were all hiding behind a dumpster together and the kids, really little kids were 'like what's going on?'" They ended up hiding in a dumpster there, the dad ended up putting his children in the dumpster to hide and stay safe. And it was probably 30 of us just hiding in this little corner behind the dumpster."

Kristen Carlson, another witness to the events that unfurled, talked about what it felt like to hide during the shooting:

“..I don’t live here anymore, but I’m afraid to get in my car and go back home, so we’re just hiding here.”

Dr. David Baum, who was attending the Illinois parade, described the crime scene as:

“..not an image that anyone who’s not a physician would have an easy time processing.”

He continued:

"They had horrific injuries — the kind of injuries you'd probably see in wartime, the kind of injuries that only probably happen when bullets can blow bodies up, these bodies were gone. They covered them up immediately and went on trying to get other people out."

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Robert Crimo nabbed by Illinois Police

The prime suspect in the mass shooting incident, Robert Crimo, was caught by the Illinois State Police after an long manhunt. A local resident of Highland Park, Crimo was taken into custody on U.S. 41 without any further incidents at Westleigh Road in Lake Forest.

Stacy Shaulman, one of the residents of Highland Park, said:

“It’s been a horrific day...I’m glad they got him. And, unfortunately, he’s a Highland Park kid, and people knew his family. His family has been around a long time.”

Six people have been reported dead in the incident. Five of them, all adults, died on the spot. The sixth victim, whose age hasn't been revealed yet, died at the hospital. All of them have been identified.