Illinois police officials and multiple news agencies are reporting that a 4th of July parade was attacked from a rooftop by a shooter with a rifle.
The reported death count is 6 and up to 26 are listed as wounded.
The suspect is still at large. He is described as a late teens early 20s male with long black hair. Having fled the scene and left the rifle on the roof, a rifle has been found and police are searching for a gunman who opened fire at about 10:14 a.m. No known motive for the attack has been attributed to the shooting at this time.
Parades and other gathering events like marathons are often targeted for terrorist acts. The Waukesha parade attack also killed 6 and left 62 injured. The Boston Marathon Bombing killed 3 but injured nearly 300.
Illinois has stringent rules in place for firearm owners, one of the few states requiring special renewed licensure to own a firearm with their FOID system.
Despite this Chicago is plagued with violence. While today’s attack will undoubtedly turn out to be an especially brutal event, and for no good reason beyond ego, the weekend had already seen 9 dead and many wounded in the city. Five people were shot in Grand Crossing just after midnight.
This is a developing story. More as we know it.
