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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Six Killed, Dozens Injured After Parade Shooting In Illinois; News Conference On Illinois July 4 Parade Shooting; Six Killed, Dozens Injured After Parade Shooting In Illinois. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 04, 2022 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:32]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Welcome to a special edition of THE LEAD. I'm Kaitlan Collins, in for Jake Tapper.
And we begin this July 4 holiday with our national lead. And breaking news on the latest deadly mass shooting in America. Authorities say at least six have been killed and at least another two dozen have been taken to the hospital with serious injuries in the city of Highland Park, Illinois, a suburb about 25 miles north of Chicago. It started when a 4th of July parade in the city's downtown area came to a halt after multiple shots were fired.
Witnesses describe a chaotic and horrific scene with terrified adults and children running for their lives, leaving camping chairs, strollers and shoes behind.
An employee at a nearby gas station says about 20 parade goers ran and sheltered inside as shots rang out. While others hid behind dumpsters and underneath cars. The gunfire started just 14 minutes after the parade began as a band was playing.
Pictures show multiple victims flying in the street, blood in them. First responders arrived on the scene. Here is how one witness described what they saw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZOE, SHOOTING WITNESS: After the ban went through we heard gunshots. We probably heard 50 rounds in total, at least. Everyone thought it was fireworks, everyone thought fireworks or the military people had just gone through the shotguns.
I was like, something is wrong. I grabbed my dad's start running. All of a sudden, everyone behind a started running. I looked back, probably 20 feet away from me I saw a girl shot and killed. I saw her die.
I've never seen anything like this. We had behind a dumpster for about an hour and then the police got us into Uncle Dan's Sporting Goods where we hid in a basement. There are other people that are hiding with.
One man had been shot in the head, he was bleeding all over his face. He was like, I'm just happy that's all that happened. Another girl got escorted out, she was shot in the leg. We went back to get our car keys and everything, and we just the streets were quite littered. It looks like a battle zone and it's disgusting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Authorities say the suspect is believed to have acted alone and carried out the shooting from the nearby rooftop. A rifle has been recovered at the scene, but the gunman is still a large. And residents are being urged to stay indoors as police say this does remain an active shooter situation with the suspect considered both armed and dangerous.
No motive has been given for the attack but officials say right now, it still appears to be random.
CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is live on the scene in Highland Park, Illinois.
And, Adrienne, I know which got an update from authorities, what are they saying?
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kaitlan, they say they are aggressively looking for the person who is responsible. We are along the parade route. The parade that never finished because of those shots that rang out.
But if you look up, it is easy to notice this -- on top of the building here in downtown highland park, snipers. They have been here for hours, it's been nearly five hours since those shots rang out that killed six people and injured dozens of others.
I spoke with a young woman shortly after the shooting and you just heard some of my conversation with her, Zoe. She says, not only did she see that young lady lose her life, along this parade route. She also described another man who she saw was shot in the ear. She says she saw another woman shot in her leg.
She also talked about running with her father, that's who she was here attending the parade with. They hid behind a dumpster.
But she described needing another family, a father who felt helpless. The only safety he saw for his children, she says, was placing them inside of a dumpster as he took off. He want to go look for other members of his family.
He asked her to keep a watch over the children. She said it was the children who kept the adults calm in that moment, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: It is a terrifying moment.
And, Adrienne, what if have police said about the suspect himself given he is still at large, they haven't been able to find him yet. How they describe he looks like or anything?
BROADDUS: They have given a generic description of the suspect. Describing him as someone between the age of 18 to 20 years old. They say he is a white male with dark hair.
[16:05:02]
They believe he is wearing a white or blue shirt. And I say that suspect or that description is generic because there were no markers about the suspect identifying him, no birthmark, no tattoo because just moments ago, we saw a man appear to our right who gave the suspect description. But after being questioned by police, it was determined he is not the person that was responsible for what happened here.
Investigators aren't telling us a lot about their investigation, other than saying the suspect could be here in town if, in highland park, or some rules. But at this hour, people are starting to show up. We have seen people show up asking members of law enforcement if they can take their belongings.
You can see a lot of lawn chairs are still here, including the chair of a child with a smiling face. People were smiling moments before those shots rang out. They were here to celebrate the 4th of July. Celebrate independence and freedom. Now they are morning -- Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Yeah, it's been hours now since the shooting happened and this person is still at large.
Adrienne Broaddus in Highland Park, Illinois, thank you.
Meanwhile, President Biden has released a statement moments ago saying that he and first lady are shocked by the senseless gun violence today that happened in Highland Park.
CNN White House correspondent MJ Lee is joining us live.
MJ, what else do we hear from President Biden on this?
MJ LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kaitlan, we've been waiting all afternoon for President Biden to address this shooting. We just received a paper statement from the president where he expressed shock at what he called the senseless gun violence. He also that he wanted to extend his thanks to first responders and law enforcement who responded on the scene.
He also said that he has spoken recently with the governor, with the mayor and that he is calling for federal law enforcement to help in any way that they can to help track down the shooter, the suspect who is still on the loose. Now, he also mentioned in the statement, Kaitlan, that not long ago he signed this bipartisan gun reform law into law -- bill into law, excuse me. But he did also say in that same statement that clearly there is much more work to do to fight this epidemic of gun violence.
Now, it is just remarkable how many times in recent months, the president has had to put out a statement to say remarks, public remarks to address a mass shooting like this, whether it is the shooting that we saw in Uvalde, Texas, or the awful shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
And just so awful that, of course, it is happening on July 4th, a day of celebration for the country. I will tell you, just standing here at the camera, as I was walking over here, you can hear the music of celebration from the South Lawn. There is an event that is going to be taking place on the south lawn at around 5:00. The president is hosting families of the military for a barbecue.
So, just a stark reminder that, again, on a day of celebration, when people are supposed to be gathering together, the president is having to put up the statement to address once again another mass shooting in this country. We will see when he makes remarks at 5:00 whether at the top of his remarks, he says, much of what he said in this paper statement against just mourning and grieving the situation there. Just not the first time in so many months that the president has had to address a situation like this, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Yeah, it's hard to see how he doesn't address it. We'll be watching closely. MJ Lee, thank you.
I want to bring in Larry Bloom who has lived in Highland Park for 15 years.
Larry, I know you were at the parade near the bandstand when these gunshots started this morning.
And, first of all, I want to thank you for joining us because I know it's obviously been a terrible day for you and your community. I would look for you to start by telling us what you saw and what happened.
LARRY BLOOM, WTTNESSED PARADE SHOOTING (via telephone): Basically, you know, it was very early in the parade. I rode my bike to downtown, I situated myself to the right of the bandstand and I was standing there, and it was very early in the parade. So, the fire trucks at the beginning of the parade had gone by and more open floats were coming by.
And people heard pop, pop, pop and I think everybody just thought, or maybe it was the floats and then it opened up, a rain of gunshot, so quickly. For quite a while, at least it seemed.
And then everybody just got up, turned and ran and tried to get behind something. We were in an area, a building called park Clinton Square. It's a heavy brick building. It's like a fortress. Once you got behind the brick, you felt pretty safe, at least for the moment.
[16:10:03]
COLLINS: And, Larry, so where did you run to when you started hearing these shots ring out?
BLOOM: I just turned right behind into the open space, which is square, like an office building, an apartment building, that's got a big open square. We all ran back that way, yeah.
COLLINS: How many people were sheltering with you over here?
BLOOM: You know, it was just imagine a full audience for a parade. It was just that many people. It was hundreds of people just in that area.
COLLINS: And did you see --
BLOOM: All roaming in the same direction.
COLLINS: Larry, you heard this pop, pop, pop. Did you see anyone injured as you are going and trying to shelter in place as well? Did you happen to pass by anyone who had been injured?
BLOOM: No, because I think -- it was coming from like Kitty Corner from where I was, kind of aimed in our direction. As soon as that started, like just the rapid fire, we just turned around and there were so many people. Even if somebody were shot, I don't think you'd necessarily see it at that moment.
COLLINS: So how long given what authorities have said and I should note, we are waiting for an update from them any moment now. How long did you shelter in place given, this suspect is still at large even if you're speaking with me now?
BLOOM: Well, as soon as we get out of the area, it's pretty I didn't really say, I was really like sheltered anywhere. When the gunshot stopped and it cleared out and then the police moved in, most people just like left the whole area. I kind of turned back around to see what was going on, just to see what was happening.
But everything seemed -- well, it was over pretty quickly. I know they haven't found this person yet but in that scenario, that incident was over and he was gone pretty quickly.
COLLINS: And were police on the scene pretty quickly?
BLOOM: I didn't feel I needed to be sheltering at that moment.
COLLINS: Were the police on the scene pretty quickly, Larry?
BLOOM: Well, yeah, obviously, the police are there. First of all, they're a part of the parade. Also, they are doing security. Obviously, this is something that is always a possibility.
There were plenty on the scene already, as it happened yes, they were coming in in all directions frequently.
COLLINS: What have you heard from local authorities since the shooting started taking place about 10:15 local time? Have they encouraged people to remain inside your homes? What are you hearing from the community?
BLOOM: Yeah, they still have a general stay inside. I don't think there's a real risk that he's in the area but we don't know. They have said people should stay inside and that's where we're at.
COLLINS: Was there a sense pretty quickly that he was firing from a rooftop? Because that's what they said they believe. They said they recovered firearm evidence from a nearby residence on the parade route.
BLOOM: Well, I've heard both, I've heard from people that he was on the ground. I've heard that he may have been on the roof top of the adjacent building across the street. It is hard to tell. We are in that quarter of downtown, the sound could be deceiving.
It was right on top of us though. So, from a rooftop would be unimaginable, it was like right on top of us.
COLLINS: And, Larry, I know you've lived there for about 15 years in Highland Park. No one ever thinks that something like this is going to happen in their community. How much does this surprise you? All of a sudden, this goes from being this day of celebration to, you are there at the scene of a mass shooting.
BLOOM: Well, to be honest with you, I said this to several people today, over the years considering the temperature of this country and some of the demographics of our town here, every year, I'm surprised and thankful that it hasn't happened yet. After I got to a safe space and I was able to get a few seconds a breath, I really thought it finally happened here, this is ours.
So, I'm not -- I wasn't too, it was disappointing but I'm surprised it took this long. It sounds awful, but yes.
COLLINS: Larry, I'm so surprised that this happened you. This is everyone's worst nightmare. And on top of that, the fact that the shooter is still at large and they are still search for him in that community.
But thank you for coming on and telling us what happened and what it was like on the ground. We really do appreciate your time, Larry. We are glad that you are safe.
BLOOM: OK. I appreciate the coverage. Thank you.
COLLINS: Joining us now as we wait on this update from the authorities is a former Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, Juliette Kayyem.
Juliette, of course, the gunman is still at large and I think that is the number one concern for this community.
[16:15:02]
So, if you are in these agencies, there's multi agency effort that is underway, what are they doing right now to try to find this person?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, multiple of things. The gun is going to be helpful in terms of who purchased it and who have may have owned it, at what stage. That might give you an identification of who the shooter is. Of course, it is just a manhunt looking for a particular individual who may be in a major city like Chicago right now. So, that is going to be difficult to do.
The second is how long are you going to enforce the shelter order if you don't find him, say, you know, by midnight, right? It is going to be hard to sustain that. Not because people will defy it but it becomes less useful overtime because you have to assume that he escaped. So, those are going to be the primary focus is.
We need identification. That's the most important thing, who is this person. We do know specifics about him, his hair color, his age, 18 to 20 years old, and the rifle. And he may have left things behind on the roof that would identify him as well. We have seen that before, U-Haul keys, other things that are left behind.
So, that's the primary focus right now on that piece, on the investigation. If he is found alive, there will be the criminal case. So, everything has to be protected, this has to be done by the book. Then of course, what is happening in the hospitals and the victims family unification, all the things that we are used to, Kaitlan, that happened after an incident like this.
COLLINS: Right, and they were saying earlier that this has been part of the difficulty with the evidence because so many people spread so quickly as they were running around, it was very chaotic. They said that is going to be difficult.
Juliette, stand by because I also want to bring in Terrance Gainer. He is a former U.S. Capitol Police chief.
And, Terrance, you are hearing from officials as they are searching for this person. This is a really large area for them to cover. It is a small committee but they're saying earlier that they didn't know if he is in the immediate area or if you've gone to a given space yet. It's been several hours since this shooting took place.
So, how difficult is it to really canvas this area, searching for him?
TERRANCE GAINER, FORMER U.S. CAPITOL POLICE CHIEF: Well, Lake County is well-prepared for something like this. They have a coordinated group of SWAT officers, the special teams. They're working under Lake County sheriff's office task force.
They are well organized, they do this a lot. That task force at this time happens to be run by a commander from the Illinois state police. They work well together. They are handling the search for the defender while the FBI is handling the crime scene.
And as we've been talking about, the ATF is deeply involved in working on the firearms. So there is some simultaneous things going on and coordination between the Lake County authorities and then the Cook County where Chicago, and there's other suburbs. I am confident that they're working together on this.
COLLINS: Yeah, they say that they're working very close to try to find him. Of course, this is the top concern for everyone in that area, not just the community members but also the officials there.
Terrance and Juliette, I want you to stay with me because we do have more questions for you about this urgent manhunt that is now underway. We are waiting to hear from the authorities on that and on the victims who were killed today after this horrible July 4th tragedy.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:22:21]
COLLINS: We're back with breaking news from the suburbs of Chicago where a deadly shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. At least six people have been killed and two dozen injured.
CNN's Brynn Gingras is following the latest on those who have been hurt as a result of this.
Brynn, what we know about how many people were there on the ground and the extent of the injuries in addition to the six people that authorities say have been killed?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, we've been making calls to area hospitals. There's two hospitals in that area, Kaitlan, that are trauma centers, level two and level one.
I talked to a director for their public information there. He said that more than 30 people actually came to his hospital and were treated with a vast majority, in his words, of gunshot wound victims. And they actually had to transport five people to one of their sister hospitals in Edmonton, which is a town nearby to Highland Park.
So, authorities are saying more two dozen injuries. We know those six people killed. We also learned from authorities that it appears the latest information they had is that there were deceased people at the scene and then one person transported who had died. So we're still trying to look at all the numbers but those are the numbers that we are getting from officials there on the ground.
But like I said, a last majority of gunshot victims. We know there are people in the crowd, people in the parades, including people of all ages. So we don't know that quite yet.
But other injuries that were sustained by people were of people who were just trying to escape the chaos, the people running over each other are the trampling-type injuries. So, certainly, a huge extent of injuries that doctors there are dealing with. I'm told 20 doctors came in right away, within half an hour of this happening to help assist with all of the medical needs.
So, quite a bringing of people together to get treating all these people who are there on the scene. Devastating, though, of course, that we still don't know any ideas or people killed at this point.
COLLINS: Yeah. They said they weren't ready to release the age, names yet of the victims who have died.
GINGRAS: Right.
COLLINS: And, Brynn, obviously, this is a pretty small suburb. It's 30,000 people. Did they have to send people to other hospitals or do they have the capacity to treat dozens of gun violence victims?
GINGRAS: Yeah. So, the two hospitals that I was coordinating with were trauma one and trauma two, which isn't much of a difference when you talk they can treat. Both of those types of hospitals are capable of treating a range of different types of wounds, a large capacity and fast, right? Like I said, 20 doctors or more were brought in within a half an hour of this happening so this is a huge response for those areas.
[16:25:06]
But, certainly, this is something that's traumatic for them, as we unfortunately have learned from incidents all across this country is that these doctors you, these nurses, these staff members are dealing with this quite quickly. I have to tell you, Kaitlan, as soon as this happened within 20 minutes or so, I called the hospital and I got quickly connected to the emergency room and it was frantic, you could hear in the background, as they were dealing with all these patients coming in.
And, surely, they'll be more, right, because we are learning from all the people there on the scene that they are people who had sheltered in place and we've seen videos of people leaving the scene escorted by police. So there might be more to come and authorities have said that in their latest news conference, that they're the latest numbers that they have.
Unfortunately, those numbers might grow as this evening comes. Of course, that update will be very useful in that regard.
COLLINS: Yeah. Brynn, we heard people hiding behind dumpsters and underneath cars as they were trying to get out of the way.
Brynn, thank you for that.
We are seeing authorities approached the microphones right now. We're waiting on a new update on this shooting in Highland Park.
CHRISTOPHER COVELLI, LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: I apologize for that delay. We're going to start right away with Commander O'Neill, and then we have some representation, Coroner Jennifer Banek, Lake County coroner's here. We have representation from the FBI state police as well.
CMDR. CHRIS O'NEILL, HIGHLAND PARK POLICE: Commander O'Neill, Highland Park Police Department. Last name is O-N-E-I-L-L.
As you know, and active investigation continues into the shooting of the Highland Park Fourth of July parade. The parade route in downtown Highland Park and the Central Business Districts remained an active crime scene.
Therefore, we highly recommend that individuals living in this area to continue to shelter in place. This area entails Green Bay Road, to Laurel Avenue, to St. John's Avenue to Elm Place.
The investigation and most law enforcement personnel are focused in this area. Individuals outside of this area no longer need to shelter in place. However, we urge everyone and anyone to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious behavior in the community.
The Lake County coroner is on scene assisting with the investigation. Highland Park police are collaborating with the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, the FBI, the Illinois state police, county and local law enforcement agencies throughout our area.
While no one is in custody at this time, a very active apprehension effort is currently under way. Individuals with knowledge of the incidents, persons of interest, including video or photo evidence from the scene or area are encouraged to share them with the FBI by calling 1-800-CALLFBI. That's 1-800-CALLFBI. Regular updates are also impost in the city's website at www.city.hpil.com.
COVELLI: The coroner.
JENNIFER BANEK, LAKE COUNTY CORONER: My name is Jennifer Banek. I'm calling with an update on the coroner's investigation.
So far, there are five dead on the scene. Those descendants have been identified and we are working on notification for those families. There is one additional decedent taken to a local hospital. Thank you.
COVELLI: All right. Again, very active investigation and we'll try to answer what questions we can without negatively impacting the investigation. I can tell you, our investigators in collaboration with the FBI and our federal partners are making significant progress. So we're moving forward and that's where we're at right now.
REPORTER: Were you able to glean anything off the gun that was left, numbers or anything that says where this might have come from?
COVELLI: The gun is certainly be heavily investigated by the ATF, our federal partners. We are working on that aspect.
REPORTER: Can you tell us what kind of gun it was?
COVELLI: Right now, we're saying it was a high-powered rifle. Beyond that, I'm not going to into much more. Eventually, we will. When we feel comfortable releasing that information without giving out information we don't want out there at this point, we will put that out.
REPORTER: This is a question for Banek.
COVELLI: Yes.
REPORTER: Can you tell us exactly -- you said you were able to identify them. Are they children? Do the ages range?
BANEK: I can tell you the decedents on scene were adults.
REPORTER: Is there an update on how many injuries? I heard there might be up to two dozen?
JOE SCHRAGE, FIRE CHIEF, CITY OF HIGHLAND PARK: So, my name is Joe Schrage. I'm the fire chief for the city of Highland Park.
So, on scene we transported ten to Highland Park hospital, six to Lake Forest Hospital and then seven to Evanston Hospital.
[16:30:10]
CHRISTOPHER COVELLI, LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: In addition to that, there were walk-ins at different hospitals, people that self- transported and drove themselves. So the numbers are a little higher than the transports by fire.
REPORTER: Have you identified the gunman? Do you know who you're looking for at this point?
COVELLI: I can't get into that just yet.
REPORTER: Are we talking about multiple shooters or one shooter?
COVELLI: At this point, we have no indication to believe there was more than. However, we're only hours after this occurred. So, we don't want to set our narrow in and we want to be very broad and look at this in totality.
REPORTER: Right now, there are armored vehicles on the street. Are they going to go door to door or --
COVELLI: So, primarily, the SWAT teams, what they are doing is they have been evacuating people out of the buildings that have been in that contained radius should the individual still be there. That is their primary focused at this point.
REPORTER: I just want to clarify those deceased who are adults? And if there --
BANEK: There were five on scene and they were all adults. There was one that was transported to a local hospital that also died at the hospital. I don't have any additional information on that victim.
REPORTER: Including their age?
BANEK: Not right now.
REPORTER: Can you go over that one more time? The perimeter.
O'NEILL: So currently we have an active crime scene in our Central Business District. The perimeter is Green Bay road to Laurel Avenue to St. John's Avenue to Elm Place. We have police still in that area continuing the investigation and clearing businesses and buildings. REPORTER: Are those people still inside buildings at this hour? Do
you know how many more you need to evacuate?
O'NEILL: Some chose to shelter in place and continue to do so. We are working with our law enforcement teams in that area to evacuate them. The Highland Park Police Department is the reunification site for families and friends. If anyone is missing anyone or if there's any separated parties, they can be directed to the Highland Park Police Department and that's located at 1677 Old Field Road in Highland Park.
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE).
O'NEILL: That's correct. That's correct. There's a heavy police presence in the area and in the community right now.
REPORTER: Those transported to the hospital, were any of them children?
SCHRAGE: At least one of those was a child. I don't know whether or not -- we transported but do not know the outcome.
REPORTER: Do you know the condition when they were transported?
SCHRAGE: When they were transported, they were critically injured. Just the child. No, I was not given an age range.
REPORTER: But the child was critically injured?
SCHRAGE: Yes. There were gunshot wounds, varied from abdomen to limbs but the crews were on scene very quickly. There were bystanders as well that rendered aid well. They were quick to tie tourniquets and do bleeding control, which definitely assisted the Fire Department on scene.
REPORTER: How long did the assist take place? Do you have any idea how many medics?
O'NEILL: Can you repeat the question?
REPORTER: How long did the incident take place --
O'NEILL: It was very quick. Gunfire was recognized in the area. Police units were already on scene and the fire patrol. It was very expeditious. It was pretty quick, and thn then the offender had pled the scene.
REPORTER: Do you have any idea how many shots were fired?
O'NEILL: I do not at this time. Numerous is what I can tell you right now.
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE). Had your department trained for anything like this or (INAUDIBLE)
O'NEILL: Yes, the Highland Park Police Department has a high level of training. We historically currently and in the future will train in rapid deployment, rapid response and rendering aid as a priority f our agency, and this morning, that was done quickly. We were able to get personnel in quickly to start evacuating wounded parties, and that also included using police vehicles in addition to fire department ambulance and vehicles and many people self-transported, too.
COVELLI: Just touching on that question, there's a high level of training in all agencies in Lake County. I think you're going to hear accounts of how quickly Highland Park Police Department responded and did exactly what they were supposed to do.
[16:35:08]
But right now, we want to focus on the victims and ensuring we're catching the offender.
REPORTER: Any idea how he got on to the roof?
COVELLI: So the roof was a business and it looks like access to the roof via a ladder in an alley was unsecure.
REPORTER: A ladder that was there already?
COVELLI: A ladder that's attached to the building.
All right. We can take two more.
REPORTER: Is there any reason to believe that the suspect is in that perimeter that y'all are currently vetting currently investigating now?
COVELLI: That's what we're working on determining. We've had dozens of police canines out here or drones and other technology we're using to locate and see if it can assist us in the investigation.
REPORTER: Any further details on suspect, description or vehicle at this point.
COVELLI: Not at this time. That initial description does stand.
All right. We'll shoot for about 4:15 for the next briefing. Thank you.
COLLINS: All right. We just got a third update from authorities in Highland Park, Illinois where a shooting and a 4th of July parade several hours ago has left at least six people dead, dozens more injured and in the hospital and as you heard them there saying at least one of those who was injured was a child with critical injuries.
Right now, I want to bring in our former Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Juliette Kayyem, and the former U.S. Capitol Police chief Terry Gainer.
Juliette and Terry, we both just listened to that update with me.
Juliette, I wonder what you make of what they said about the suspect, because they said no one is in custody but a very active apprehension effort is underway. What does that mean?
KAYYEM: That's when he got vague and rightfully so. Whether it's the rifle and figuring out who owns it, whether a family member was talking about doing something like this, that's the part where he rightfully got coy because this is manhunt. And I think that's one of the big takeaways was shelter in place is neither sustainable nor helpful after a couple hours because you just have to assume that he was not injured, the shooter was not injured and was able to escape to a city or wherever else.
So it's the lifting -- there's two parts to it. There's a lifting of the shelter in place order for everyone who is not part or not close to what is now a significant crime scene. And because there might be a criminal trial, they have a actually figure out who is where and where victims were shot.
The final thing is just, you know, I'm just going to say this, just the sort of professionalism of what's going on now after some of the stuff that we've seen and we've reported on just this was the third briefing, he's telling us that there's going to be another briefing, they're giving facts, they're giving information, they're not disclosing things they don't know.
In fact, the coroner came back up to clarify she was not sure of the age of the person who had died at the hospital. That's really important for a nation who suffers these days in and day out but obviously for the community, it builds trust at a time when it's necessary, the community is in trauma.
COLLINS: Yeah, it's sad that people have to be professionals and are able to do something like that so quickly. But, yes, we have gotten three updates. They just said a fourth update will be forthcoming shortly.
Terry, I wonder what you made of them saying the person had access via a ladder attached to a building in an alley which was unsecure and we heard earlier that they believe this was random. This person was targeting spectators at this event.
So, I wonder what you heard from that update.
GAINER: Well, I think one of the things I heard, especially if you want to focus on the ladder is this person probably pre-scouted what he wanted to do and knew this was a good spot to do it.
So, the fact that it was being described random doesn't mean that he didn't do some planning. That's one thing. And I agree with Juliette, the professionalism with how this is being handled is very refreshing.
We concentrate on the victims of this a little bit, the number of people transported to the hospital to the fire or police department makes the number physically injured or suffering trauma as they fled from the scene is an important thing, too. You see a lot of things going on at once.
And, Kaitlan, you may know that I ran the Illinois state police for about ten years. I know the area well. And they are right Lake County with the sheriff there and task force are a good, professional outfit and they work very well together. That's a plus.
[16:40:02]
COLLINS: Terry, given that experience that you have, when you hear him say he went to a ladder in an alley, clearly, he knew this parade was going to be happening. It was widely publicized. It's a parade that happens every year on the 4th of July.
What do you hear from that given they're still search for him. Do you think this person went in and planned in and planned an escape given it's been several hours since the shooting happened and they have not located the suspect yet?
GAINER: I think that's a safe assumption since we don't know all the facts. It hard to believe someone might be wandering down allies and carrying this deadly weapon and looking for an opportunity. It looks a little preplanned based on the things we're hearing.
The fact that the offender left the weapon there also tells you something about the offender and that he wanted to get out of there quickly. The fact that, as Juliette mentioned, that they're lifting the shelter in place is a little bit of a clue that the police may know a little bit more about the offender than is being people who may know someone who fits in description or has been acting strangely in the past week or two, like we've seen in other shootings, now is the time for them to pick up the phone, drop a dime and share some information that will help officers lead to this individual to bring in him in safely and prevent anything else from happening.
COLLINS: And, Juliette, you're hearing this from authorities about how they're using this gun potentially. They recovered this high powered weapon, they really won't describe more about it but how are they using that to try to figure out this person's identity?
KAYYEM: It's a typical sort of ATF or gun search. It will be a serial number, it will have an identification. You will figure out the manufacturer.
Once again, they're not disclosing the type of gun, we are hearing the numbers. We know that it was a very fast gun that killed people very quickly. So they're just calling it high powered. They then link that to a seller, purchaser, multiple purchasers, assuming that it's lawful. Most of these high powered guns are lawful, even if not in Illinois but surrounding states.
So that's just the search that they're doing. So the leaving of the gun is a huge clue for law enforcement to sort of close the window right now in particular to find the seller and therefore who might ultimately be the buyers.
So, I think we're all -- we're all hoping just given the pace of this and what we're hearing from law enforcement that the identification and manhunt will close relatively quickly. This tends to happen. It happened in New York after the subway bombing. People make mistakes, identifications are made and then there's an arrest or depending on how he's actually captured.
So that's what we'll probably look for in the next couple of hours.
COLLINS: Terry, you heard them say they're using dozens of dogs, drones trying to find this person. What about security camera footage of these businesses or even cell phone footage? I think people were taking videos of what they thought was a July 4th parade and ended up being a mass crime scene now that the shooting happened.
So, what are they using to find this person?
GAINER: Well, you named just about all of them, Kaitlan. And you remember, the spokesman said if you have that type of footage, whether from your business or cell phone that gave the number of the FBI, the FBI is probably best equipped to put that type of various video and digital evidence together as everybody saw some nine years ago in Boston.
So, everybody is working in their cylinders of excellence, if you will, tying all of those things together to the command officials together to bring it all together. So, everybody contributing, everybody working together, sharing that information, it should bring this to a successful conclusion.
KAYYEM: Can I say one thing, what Terrance picked up quickly, is it is not just today. If there was surveillance going on by the killer, the police are asking, if you've been in the area taking pictures, if you own the building that is take -- this person may have been sticking it out, this person may have entered, gone upstairs on July 3, we don't know, and therefore, that's what -- that's what they're looking for.
COLLINS: Absolutely. Those are going to be critical questions for them to answer.
Juliette Kayyem, Terry Gainer, thank you for joining us on such an important subject. Thank you for your insight. We will be back with you.
We are still following this breaking news. We just got the latest update from authorities on the six people at least who have been killed, dozens more injured and in the hospital after a suspect opened fire on a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
[16:45:00]
The person is still missing. He has not been arrested yet, but they did describe the suspect. We'll speak with those who know more about what's been going on.
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COLLINS: The breaking news this hour: at least six people are dead and dozens more injured after a gunman opened fire on the crowd at a 4th of July parade in a Chicago suburb of Highland Park. The suspect is still at large, as we just heard from authorities who say an active apprehension effort is still under way.
I want to go to Miles Zaremski. He was at the parade today.
And, Miles, we spoke earlier.
[16:50:01]
You were one of the first people we spoke to after the incident had taken place. And you told me that you were, you said you had multiple injuries. You said you saw multiple lifeless bodies. Unfortunately it's been confirmed at least six people have been killed.
And I just wonder, what's your reaction to the fact you woke up this morning and you went to a 4th of July parade and six people have been killed.
MILES ZAREMSKI, WITNESSED PARADE SHOOTING: Kaitlan, good afternoon and thank you again for having me.
I can only say I've been around many years on this planet and what I observed shook me to the core if not almost putting me in tears for what I observed on the nation's birthday basically with people supposedly enjoying themselves. As you mentioned and as confirmed, I saw a couple of individuals in pools of blood that looked lifeless and unfortunately, may have even seen the young child who may have died as a result as well.
And that will always remain seared in my memory. But what is more important and I may have communicated this to you already, is that if it can happen on July 4th in a peaceful, law-abiding community like we have in Highland Park led by a tremendous Mayor Nancy Rotering, it can happen anyplace.
And obviously I'm not seeing anybody new what we've seen in Uvalde, Pittsburgh synagogue and entertainment venues, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, and, quite frankly and in all honesty, guns kill and what we hear from politicians, not in the state of Illinois necessarily, but politicians elsewhere saying we have to do other things. Like we've heard from Texas Governor Greg Abbott or Ron DeSantis in Florida, they are just so off the beaten path because we have to do much, much more on gun control rather than the window dressing we saw passed in recent days and just signed by President Biden.
So, yes.
COLLINS: Talking about that child, we should note the authorities haven't confirmed what ultimately has happened to the kid, they said the kid was taken to the hospital following the shooting earlier.
I wonder, Miles, you're talking with how this can happen anywhere in America. That is what we are learning from these shootings, whether it's an elementary school in Texas, a supermarket in New York, a Fourth of July parade in Illinois. And I wonder what you've heard from your neighbors and your friends that you've been talking in the hours since this happened.
What are they saying?
ZAREMSKI: I will say I have received texts and emails from throughout the country from either relatives, colleagues, friend and they are in tears and in shock, utterly in shock that human lives don't mean anything anymore and those with guns, and if it's an automatic rifle like I think took place in our community hours ago, that we are tolerating -- our politicians are tolerating the continued use, sale and distribution of lethal weapons that belong in a Vietnam or Afghanistan or Iraq and not in the streets of a suburb like Highland Park.
Incidentally, I might add that I believe through our mayors' efforts some years back, we passed a ordinance that banned assault weapons and that was challenged, and I think went to the seventh circuit court of appeals affirmed our ordinance and I believe the Supreme Court denied taking the petition for certiorari.
So, whoever did this heinous act came from outside the four corners of our suburb.
COLLINS: Miles, what was it like at the parade this morning? Because they say this happened about 20 or so minutes into the parade starting. That's when the first shots rang out.
ZAREMSKI: The parade starts about 10:00, 10:02 a.m. It first starts with our vehicles, fire department, police department, paramedics and different floats there after. This occurred around 10:18, 10:20 a.m., I believe, if I recall correctly.
People were enjoying themselves. There were pets, there were children, there were families, there were individuals, there were senior citizens just enjoying Highland Park's July 4th parade.
And I've attended these for over 30 years.
[16:55:02]
My family, my wife and I, have been here since 1976. And it was status quo to have an enjoyable couple of hours that would end at a local park, that had festivities, and food, et cetera. This happened with a pop, pop, pop, and I'm guessing around 30 of those that I heard in two separate segments.
So, you know, what next? We have to have armed guards at July 4th parades or professional baseball venues or events, or screens put up like in front of the White House or elsewhere? This is a scary nation and I fault personally our politicians.
COLLINS: It is a very scary time. Miles Zaremski, we first spoke in the moments after this happened, I'm very sorry to meet like this but I'm very grateful for your help and for you being willing to come on and tell us what you saw. Thank you for joining us, Miles.
ZAREMSKI: Thank you, Kaitlan, for having me.
COLLINS: Absolutely. And after speaking with Miles and hearing the update from authorities, we are still following the breaking news this July 4th, which is a manhunt is still under way in and round Highland Park, Illinois, right outside of Chicago. We'll talk about the challenges for law enforcement right now as they are trying to track down the person who opened fire targeting spectators at a 4th of July parade.
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