Highland Park shooting: 6 dead, 2 dozen others likely shot at parade by gunman on rooftop

A gunman opened fire on the Highland Park Independence Day parade, killing at least six people and wounding more than two dozen others in the latest mass shooting incident to terrorize an American community.

The shooter, a white man between 18-20 years old with long black hair, who was last seen wearing a white or blue shirt, opened fire from a rooftop with a high-powered rifle and targeted spectators, according to police. He remained at large as of Monday afternoon.

Highland Park is an idyllic suburb nearly 30 miles north of downtown Chicago bordering Lake Michigan. In 1998, Vanity Fair said the largely white and Jewish suburb “has the feel of a gated community without the actual gates.” Michael Jordan made his home there for a time when he was with the Bulls.

Video from the scene showed the chaos that unfolded Monday morning: Parents sat on the curb of the parade route enjoying the marching band when the young musicians suddenly started running, the instruments they had carefully worked to master held in front of them as they sprinted for their lives. Families rushed away from the parade route, leaving hundreds of empty lawn chairs, strollers, drinks and balloons behind. Children left bicycles, helmets and pacifiers.