Article author:
Canadian Press
James McCarten
Highland Park, Illinois — Shelly Serra's cell phone rang at 10:17 am on July 4th. She remembers the time exactly.
What she heard — it was her daughter Lauren — she never forgets.
"Cry:" There is a shooter, there is a shooter, you have to come to catch us, you have to come to catch us, "Sera recalled.
"There is no mother on earth. It doesn't matter how old your child is. It wants to get the call."
From Connecticut Lauren and her friend Amanda Levy, who were visiting, rang a shot at a parade on July 4th in the suburbs of Tony Chicago in Highland Park on Monday.
"I think I've blacked out," said 28-year-old Levy, as she explained, seeing some of the floats in the parade stop unexpectedly. ..
"I was confused, and I saw the band running on the sidewalk, and it saw me (Lauren) and the policeman running in the opposite direction. When I saw it. "
While watching the parade on July 4, when a gunner sitting on the roof and dressed in women's clothing fired at the audience. , 7 people were killed and 38 were injured on Monday. Pass through downtown in the suburbs.
At the crossroads of Central Avenue and Green Bay Road, where journalists and locals are awkwardly mixed as it becomes an unpleasant US ritual on Tuesday, the remains of an abandoned national holiday are still on display. It was done.
An upward folding chair, a miniature flag flapping in the breeze, and a child's pink bicycle were still visible behind the police barricade. This is a testament to the moment when the patriotism of the community celebration melted into a terrible panic.
Residents and visitors stopped by the scene and stepped on police tape gauntlets to pay homage, steadily increasing the collection of flowers and handwritten expressions of sadness throughout the afternoon. Has increased to.
Serra and Levy were one of a crowd of spectators who cheered with confidence on Tuesday when prosecutors announced seven first-class murder charges against suspect Robert E. Climo III. It was a club.
21-year-old Klimo is not only facing life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, but is also likely to be accused of "tens", Lake County lawyer Eric.・ Reinhardt said.
Authorities also disclosed the identities of six of the seven victims. Catherine Goldstein, 64 years old. Irina McCarthy, 35; Kevin McCarthy, 37; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Steven Strauss, 88, all from Highland Park. Nicholas Toledo Zaragoza, Mexico, 78 years old.
Lake County spokesman for the Major Crime Task Force, Christopher Coveli, said April 2019 after police learned that police had attempted suicide a week ago. Said that he was the first to respond to Kurimo's house.
The next exchange took place in September of that year when his family reported that Kurimo had a collection of knives and he threatened to "kill everyone." I did. There were no claims or complaints.
Kurimo has five, including a rifle used in the attack, a rifle found in a car with him when he was arrested, and a pistol and other firearms confiscated at his father's house. I bought a gun legally.
Just six weeks after the deadly primary school riots in Uvalde, Texas, violence in Highland Park struck, killing 19 children and two teachers. But it's not surprising.
Coveli said the suspect had planned an attack for several weeks, concealed a tattoo on his face, and wore women's clothing to blend in with the crowd as he fled the scene. ..
He states that an archer armed with a powerful rifle climbed the roof of a company along the parade route using emergency stairs before firing more than 70 bullets at the crowd. rice field.
When that was over, the attacker allegedly abandoned his rifle and fled, blending into the crowd as if he were an "innocent spectator."
Police have no information that it was religiously or racially motivated, Covelli said, describing the attack as "completely random."
"What should have been a celebration of freedom ended in despair for our community," said a series of officials, investigators, and police behind him.
"All those who died one step from here have lost their freedom. All, all the ounces of freedom they had. Freedom to love, freedom to learn, And the freedom to live a fulfilling life.
"Their freedom is also important."
In a country recently known for life, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness, that freedom is good. May include leaving for.
"I don't like the world we live in at all," Serra said.
"I have serious concerns about where we went and where we are going, and to be honest, I recently thought about leaving this country several times.
Also, Jim Pearlman, who has lived in Highland Park for a lifetime, says he is not the only one considering his options.
"The momentum is on the rise, so many are talking about it and people want to leave," says Perlman, an apartment within two blocks of where the shooting took place. I did.
"They don't feel safe. Kids don't feel safe at school ... it's like a snowman going down a hill and getting worse."
Where are they going? Serra said she has a family in Israel, which is famous for violence. "But it's more predictable," she said.
"This is what it looks like and how it feels to live in Israel."
When it comes to Pearlman, he thinks near his house.
"Everyone talks about Canada," he said. "We may be there."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 6, 2022.
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