Shots at parade: suspected shooter admits bloody deed
Created: 07/07/2022 04:47
By: Lukas Zigo, Nail Akkoyun, Lea-Sophie Mollus
A man kills at least seven people at a US National Day parade in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois.
The suspect is now on trial.
USA
: A 21-year-old man opens fire at a National Day parade, killing six people.
Shots at the US National Day parade:
sniper announced action on the Internet.
Highland Park assassination:
Suspect identified by gun.
+++ 18:35:
Two days after the act of violence at a street parade on US national day in a suburb of Chicago, the alleged perpetrator confessed to having shot at the crowd.
Lake County District Attorney Eric Rinehart said Wednesday.
According to police spokesman Christopher Covelli, the 21-year-old had "seriously considered" using another weapon to commit a second assassination in the city of Madison, Wisconsin, about a two-and-a-half hour drive away.
A gunman opened fire in Highland Park on Monday, US Independence Day.
According to the police, he fired a rifle from the roof of a business building indiscriminately at the crowd celebrating and fired about 70 shots.
Seven people died and more than 30 were injured.
The alleged perpetrator has been charged with seven counts of murder – further charges are likely to follow, according to statements by the public prosecutor.
If convicted, the mere first-degree murder charges would carry a life sentence with no chance of parole.
Residents of the Chicago suburb of Highland Park attend a prayer service for those killed during a holiday parade.
© Joel Lerner/Imago
Shots at parade: alleged perpetrator appears in court
+++ 3:25 p.m .:
The suspected shooter who shot seven people in the United States on Independence Day is expected to appear in court today, Wednesday (July 6).
This is reported by the news
channel CNN.
According to Lake County, Illinois, Attorney Eric Rinehart, if the 21-year-old were convicted, he would face life in prison without parole.
The charge of seven counts of murder is just one of many, Rinehart said.
Crimo killed seven people and injured dozens in a July 4 Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb.
Authorities say he shot the crowd from a rooftop in Highland Park.
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Shooting at National Day parade: suspected gunman accused of seven murders
Update from Wednesday, July 6, 6:25 a.m .:
After the sniper attack on US National Day in a suburb of Chicago, the alleged shooter has been accused of seven murders.
Prosecutor Eric Rinehart said on Tuesday in Highland Park, Illinois, that "dozens more" charges against the 21-year-old could be added during the course of the proceedings.
Shots fired at parade on National Day: death toll increased
+++ 10:20 p.m .:
The death toll has risen to seven after the deadly shots at the holiday parade in Highland Park.
One person died a day after the attack as a result of his injuries, as reported by the news channels
CNN
and
ABC News
, citing local police.
A gunman opened fire in the Chicago suburb on Monday during the US National Day.
The alleged perpetrator was caught hours after the crime.
Shots at the parade on the national holiday: the suspected shooter's motive is still unclear
+++ 9:15 p.m .:
The law enforcement authorities said that no motive for the alleged shooter for the fatal attack on the July 4 parade in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, is known.
"At this point in time, we haven't heard any motive from him.
The investigators are working hard to clarify.
You've had conversations with him;
I can't say anything about the motive because it hasn't been revealed yet," Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff's Office told
CNN
.
Videos posted online showing violent images of the suspect are being reviewed, it said.
Shots at parade on US national holiday: suspected shooter is said to have camouflaged himself
+++ 8:00 p.m .:
After a 21-year-old opened fire on July 4th during a US National Day parade, killing six people, the police have now published further details.
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.
He was only taken into custody by investigators hours after the crime.
A spokesman said he climbed the roof from which he fired indiscriminately at the crowd via a fire escape.
Contrary to previous statements, the police made it clear that the man was 21 years old.
He will be 22 in September.
There is currently no evidence of accomplices.
Another gun was in the getaway car, his mother's car.
It indicates that he also acquired this legally.
The police initially kept a low profile on the motive.
"We have no information to suggest that this act was racially motivated, religiously motivated or directed against any other specific group," it said.
Shots at the parade on National Day: the alleged shooter probably bought the weapon legally
+++ 5:25 p.m.:
FBI agents are combing the area around the mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, looking for evidence.
They examined items left in the city from yesterday's Fourth of July parade, including folding chairs, blankets and a stroller.
The FBI is also looking for tips in the digital space and is asking people with pictures and/or video of what happened to send them to the FBI.
+++ 17:07:
The suspected sniper probably acquired the murder weapon legally.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said while she didn't know where the gun used in the attack came from, she told
NBC
, "I know it was obtained legally."
Rotering said she has known the suspected shooter since he was a child and doesn't think he was previously known to the police.
"I know him as someone who was a Boy Scout when I was a Girl Scout leader," the mayor told
NBC
.
"He was just a little boy." Referring to the shooter's online posts, she said they "reflected a long-held plan and desire to cause a bloodbath."
The focus of the discussion about the shooting should be on the fact "there are weapons of war on our streets that people can get them legally and then kill dozens of people," Rotering said.
Shots at parade on National Day: Suspect's uncle saw "no signs" of violence
+++ 2.30 p.m .:
The uncle of the arrested suspect told the US broadcaster
CNN
that he had not recognized any warning signs of such an act of violence.
"I am devastated.
I didn't see any indication that he would do anything like that." He said he had never seen his nephew behave violently or behave in a way that was worrying.
"I can't say anything bad about him." He described the young man as a reclusive person: "He's a quiet kid.
He's usually alone.
He's a lonely, quiet person, he keeps everything to himself."
Shooting at parade - Suspect released music videos involving gun violence
+++ 2:00 p.m .:
After shots were fired at a US National Day parade, investigators were able to attribute several music videos published on the Internet showing scenes of gun violence to the young man who shot spectators with a “powerful rifle”.
In archived versions - apparently self-made - videos of the shooter can be seen.
They were published under a pseudonym.
A video uploaded a year ago shows a comic strip showing several scenes of shootings.
At one point, a gunman lies on the ground in a pool of blood, surrounded by police officers with drawn guns.
Another video shows a man with brightly colored hair and multiple tattoos, including on his face.
A room can be seen that is intended to represent a classroom.
Towards the end of the video, he poses in front of a blackboard with a protective helmet and a type of combat vest.
He holds up the US flag.
Shooting at US National Day Parade: Suspect identified by gun
+++ 1:00 p.m .:
As reported by the US television station
NBC5Chicago
, the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) was able to identify the shooter because of the gun left at the scene.
The "ATF Rapid Trace" (in German: ATF fast tracking) was able to identify the suspect as the buyer of the rifle.
In addition, the suspect is said to have veiled himself in women's clothing.
It is not yet clear whether he wore them during the arrest or during the assassination.
The investigation is ongoing.
Shots fired at parade in Chicago: Eyewitness describes horror – "It was right over us"
+++ 10.30 a.m .:
Larry Bloom, who has lived in Highland Park for 15 years, described the horror of the parade visitors to CNN.
He had cycled to the parade and was standing to the right of a bandstand when he heard a "pop, pop, pop."
"Then it just started.
It rained shots, just so fast, for quite a while, or so it seemed," Bloom said.
It seemed to him that the shots came from across the street and were aimed at the area of the crowd he was in.
"It was right above us," he said.
"It would not be inconceivable from a roof." According to police, the shooter was on the roof of a shop, from which he opened fire on the parade participants.
Meanwhile, digital evidence helped investigators identify the suspect.
Law enforcement officials today "processed a significant amount of digital evidence that helped investigators" identify the man as a suspect, a spokesman for the mayor said.
Gunshots at US National Day parade: "It looked like a battlefield"
+++ 10.30 a.m .:
At a parade for the American National Day (July 4th), a sniper opened fire on parade participants and killed six people.
Onlookers in the Chicago suburb apparently initially thought the shots were fireworks.
An eyewitness to the parade said: “It looked like a battlefield and it's disgusting.
It's really gross," Zoe Pawelczak, who attended the Independence Day parade with her father, told
CNN
.
More and more details are becoming known about the victims of the attack.
According to the
Reuters
news agency , among the victims in the Chicago suburb are a teacher from a synagogue and a man who came from Mexico to visit his family.
The synagogue said she was survived by her husband and daughter.
The 70-year-old's granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, wrote: "My grandfather Nicolas Toledo, father of eight children and grandfather to many, left us this morning on July 4th.
What was supposed to be a fun family day turned into a terrible nightmare for all of us."
Chicago: Sniper announced action online – "I just have to do it"
+++ 7.30 a.m .:
Hours after the attack, the police announced the identity of the shooter and published a mugshot.
He was first officially designated a "person of interest," a sort of precursor to a suspect.
The arrested man describes himself as a musician and presents himself online with the artist name of a rapper.
According to US media, he had published violent content on online platforms in the past.
Among them, according to the
Chicago Tribune newspaper
, was a video with drawings of a gunman and people being shot, and a voice saying, "I just have to do it" and "Nothing can stop me, not even myself."
Sniper kills six people at US National Day parade – 22-year-old arrested
+++ 6:25 a.m .:
Eyewitness Don Johnson told AFP that he heard screams and saw people running with children in their arms.
"We ran into the gas station and stayed there for three hours," Johnson said.
"I've seen scenes like this over and over again on TV and in other cities, and I didn't think it would ever happen here."
US President Joe Biden was "shocked by the senseless gun violence".
He thanked the emergency services and said he was praying for the injured.
Six dead after shooting at US National Day parade – suspect arrested
Update from Tuesday, July 5, 3:40 a.m .:
After the deadly gun attack at a US National Day parade near Chicago, the suspect was arrested.
The 22-year-old was arrested "without incident" after a brief car chase, Highland Park City Police Chief Lou Jogmen said on Monday.
The police had previously searched for the suspect under high pressure and with hundreds of heavily armed forces.
At least six people were killed in the attack during Independence Day celebrations on July 4 in Highland Park, Illinois, north of Chicago.
Around 25 other people were injured by bullets.
The shooter opened fire on a crowd attending a holiday parade from the roof of a shop, police said.
Shots at the US National Day parade: several people dead – perpetrators on the run
+++ 9:50 p.m .:
It is now known that the previously unknown shooter killed at least six people in the US National Day parade in a suburb of Chicago.
A police spokesman said 24 people were taken to hospitals after the crime in Highland Park, Illinois.
The shooter was initially not caught.
A weapon was found at the crime scene.
The suspect is described as a white male between the ages of 18 and 20.
A spokesman for the Lake County Sheriff's Office said it appears the gunman fired from a rooftop.
Mayor Nancy Rotering urged people to avoid downtown.
The administration of the small town with around 30,000 inhabitants said: "Numerous police officers are on duty and have cordoned off downtown Highland Park." The background to the crime was initially unknown.
Shots at the US National Day parade: Apparently several dead
Update from Monday, July 4th, 7:50 p.m .:
A shooter opened fire at a parade on the occasion of the national holiday in the USA in a suburb of Chicago.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said he had received reports that nine people were injured or killed by gunfire.
Congressman Brad Schneider, who wanted to take part in Monday's parade, wrote on Twitter: "I have heard that there have been deaths and injuries." An eyewitness named Miles Zaremski told
CNN
that he saw several people injured and lifeless who were lying on the ground.
"It was heartbreaking."
Zaremski said he heard around 30 pops.
People fled the parade.
"It was just chaotic." Lake County Sheriff's Office Nancy Rotering tweeted, "Stay out of the area -- let the police and first responders do their job."
It was not initially known who fired the shots at the parade in Highland Park.
The mayor of Highland Park urged people to stay away from downtown.
The July 4th festival has been cancelled.
The United States celebrated its Independence Day on Monday.
Shots fired at US National Day parade: at least one person killed
First Report:
Highland Park - Multiple shots were fired during a US Independence Day parade in Highland Park, a northern Chicago suburb.
This is reported by several US media unanimously.
At least one person was killed.
According to the Chicago Tribune newspaper, the Illinois state police are currently on duty.
At the time of the crime, around 10 a.m. (local time), hundreds of people are said to have been at the parade.
The visitors left the event in panic, according to a report by the Chicago Sun Times.
Official information about the perpetrators and other background information is not yet available.
The US has long struggled with massive levels of gun violence.
At the end of May, an 18-year-old gunman massacred a Texas elementary school.
He killed 19 children and two teachers in the small town of Uvalde at the end of May before he was shot dead by the police.
The bloody deed had rekindled the discussion about stricter gun laws in the USA.
(nak/lz with AFP/dpa)
