By Ree HinesNBC
News
What was supposed to be a day of fun and celebration for the Highland Park, Illinois community ended in tragedy when a youth fired a rifle from a rooftop into the July 4th parade, killing seven people and injuring one. more than 30.
Katherine Goldstein, 64, had attended the parade with one of her two daughters, Cassie Goldstein, 22. In an interview with NBC News on Tuesday, the young woman recalled the chaos of the first shots.
“[My mother] waved to the floats;
every float that passed by, she waved at her,” Goldstein said.
“
I looked up, and I saw the attacker shooting straight down at the children
,” she recounted, “I told [my mother] that someone was shooting and she had to run.”
Katherine Goldstein with her daughters, Alana and Cassie. Courtesy of the Goldstein family
[A boy was found alone and bloodied after the shooting. The police searched for his parents but they were already dead]
"I started running with her, side by side," the young woman explained. But suddenly, her mother fell to the ground.
"He shot her in the chest
," Goldstein said, "she fell and I knew she was dead."
"I just told him that I loved her and that I couldn't stay there because he was still shooting everyone around me," she added.
Katherine Goldstein with her husband Craig. Courtesy of the Goldstein family/NBC News
"I had her for 22 years," he explained with a broken voice, "
I had the best mom in the world with me for 22 years
."
The Lake County coroner's office on Tuesday released the names of six of the seven people who died in the attack.
In addition to Katherine Goldstein, Irina McCarthy, 35, was killed;
Kevin McCarthy, 37;
Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63;
Stephen Strauss, 88;
and Nicolás Toledo-Zaragoza, 78. On Wednesday, the identity of the seventh victim was revealed: Eduardo Uvaldo, 69 years old.