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Highland Park Police: 5 Killed In July 4 Parade Shooting; Suspect Still At Large After 5 Killed At July 4 Parade In IL; Police Speak After Deadly Shooting At July 4 Parade In Illinois. Aired 1:30- 2p ET

Aired July 04, 2022 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[13:33:08]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: We have new information coming in this hour about a shooting that has happened at a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb. Highland Park police say that five people have died.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is following the developments for us.

Brynn, this is devastating news to hear this from police that at least five people have been killed in this shooting. What else are you learning?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Incredibly devastating. Kaitlan, we have heard from the governor that nine people were shot, so it's unclear if that's in addition to the five people that the police at the local level are saying have been killed. So we're still trying to work out those numbers.

But regardless, this is horrific to know that this has happened in Highland Park, Illinois, not far from Chicago, a suburb of Chicago.

We also know, Kaitlan, that the law enforcement response has expanded. We've confirmed now that the FBI has now sent resources to that area. So that includes federal law enforcement resources at the state level, as well as the local level in that area as well.

We have learned also that there's a B.P., a gas station, that's about a block off the parade route. My colleague, Mark Morales, spoke to someone who works at that gas station.

They have 20 people inside of their business and they are just staying there, sheltering there, essentially, which is what the town suggested, everyone should be sheltering in place. They have the doors look and they're not letting anyone else in.

That is a tweet we also actually got from that town, to shelter in place. Because as it seems right now, this appears to be an active shooter situation. That's what the state police have been tweeting as well.

So again, we're trying to work out all of these different places where we're getting information and what is happening on the ground at the moment.

But what we're sure of is that five people were killed according to the police there at the local level. It is an active situation with many members of law enforcement from all different levels responding and trying to get the latest.

[13:35:04]

But you can see all these images. They are just so disturbing, Kaitlan, as you mentioned to the last guess.

You see the shoes that were left behind, the blankets, the strollers, and chairs, the chaos that ensued when these shots rang out at the beginning of this Fourth of July celebration parade in that town of Highland Park -- Kaitlan?

COLLINS: It's absolutely chilling. This is a parade that families go to, they're attending, and to see the aftermath, the chaos, coolers, chairs just strewn across the ground.

Brynn, thank you for that. We'll check back in with you momentarily.

I do want to go to Debbie Glickman. She was at the parade. She's joining us now on the phone.

Debbie, obviously, this is devastating news to hear from the Highland Park police that five people who were at this parade have been killed following this shooting.

What can you tell us, Debbie? What did you see when you were there?

DEBBIE GLICKMAN, ATTENDED PARADE (via telephone): Well, so I was, actually, walking in the parade. The parade had just started. We were just getting ready to walk onto one of the main streets.

You know, we were listening to music and dancing and having fun and just enjoying the day. All of a sudden, we saw people running away from the parade. We had no idea what was happening.

One of my friends just said, run, run, run, there's a shooter, there's a shooter. You know, people were thinking that maybe it was just a firecracker that had gone off bad. But people were running and police and ambulances and fire trucks and it just was absolutely mass chaos.

I was running away from what was going on. And it was absolutely the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me.

I've lived here my whole life, and it's a wonderful, wonderful town north of Chicago, a northern suburb, And I spent my whole life here and raised my family here.

To have this happen here is just -- it's just unbelievable.

COLLINS: Debbie, you said you had been walking in the parade. How far had you guys made it before you heard the shots being fired? GLICKMAN: I mean, it was probably 10 minutes into the parade that this

happened. I mean, we were just getting ready to turn on -- we were kind of towards the back of the parade.

And we were just getting ready to turn onto kind of, you know, where one of the main drag is. It wasn't the street that the shooting was on, but it's the street just east of it.

COLLINS: Debbie, you said you heard the shots. When your friend told you there was a gun being fired, it wasn't a firework -- it's understandable you thought that given you're at a Fourth of July parade.

Had your friend seen the shooter or --

(CROSSTALK)

GLICKMAN: No. No. We were far enough away that we couldn't see anything that was going on other than people just -- literally it was just a mass of people running south of where we were away from the parade.

COLLINS: How many people would you say were there? I know it's a town of 30,000 or so. So how many people --

GLICKMAN: Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people. I mean, it goes all the way probably about a mile. The parade route goes about a mile down Central Avenue all the way to where there's a carnival waiting for all the families and kids to enjoy.

COLLINS: Absolutely. I mean, we're looking at these images right now. Debbie, where you can see strollers, you see chairs, blankets. We saw a shoe on the ground where clearly there was chaos in the aftermath of this.

I want to note, Debbie, for our viewers, we're waiting for an update from police that we expect to get any moment now. We will take that live as soon as we get it.

Debbie, I wonder, did you see any injuries when everyone was trying to flee the scene and get away from the chaos?

GLICKMAN: No. We did not see injuries. As we were running, people were just, you know, screaming and just terrified. I mean, just couldn't believe this would happen in our little town.

COLLINS: How many years have you been going to this Fourth of July parade?

GLICKMAN: I'm 54 years old and I've been going my whole life. So my whole life.

COLLINS: Debbie, were there a bunch of police there at the shooting? Obviously, it's a Fourth of July parade. You expect to see ambulances that were there. I know Myles, who we spoke with earlier, said there were police

leading off the parade. But how many police officers would you say were around?

GLICKMAN: I mean, we saw -- as I was running and I was looking behind me, I saw, you know, immediately ambulances and police cars and fire engines rushing towards the scene, which made me think it was not a firework, and that there was something really terrifying going on.

You know, I don't know how many. I just know I saw lots of flashing red lights.

COLLINS: Absolutely.

[13:40:02]

And, Debbie, when you were walking there and you were looking around as everyone started running -- is your family there? Are they safe? Have you been able to check in with the people that you knew?

GLICKMAN: My children are not in town, thank goodness. And my husband -- I called him right away and he came to get me.

And we saw people running on Green Bay Road. We picked them up. We didn't know who they were. And we drove them to safety.

I mean, you know, we live in a community where everybody helps everybody out. You know, all of the people that I was at the parade, I believe are safe. I hope and pray are safe.

We're getting in reports of things I don't know to be true, so I don't want to talk about it.

But there's a little boy that is missing from his family. And I was hoping maybe I could get a picture of him on the screen. He got separated from his family. He's in safekeeping. But we just don't know -- we don't know where his parents are.

COLLINS: How old would you say this boy was?

GLICKMAN: I think he's 3.

COLLINS: How did you come across him?

GLICKMAN: One of my friends that I was walking with -- it's on my Facebook page. He's on my Facebook page. We're looking for his parents.

COLLINS: Debbie, I know this is about 30,000 people that live in Highland Park. It's about the size of the town where I also grew up in in Alabama. I wonder, how close knit in this community?

GLICKMAN: Very, extremely close knit. Everybody -- I mean, it's a big town, but everybody really looks out for each other. I mean, I grew up here. I moved back here to raise my family. It's a wonderful, wonderful community. COLLINS: Yes, clearly.

This is devastating that it's been so disrupted. We now know five people have been killed. The suspect is still at large.

Debbie, so I wonder, what have you heard about going home or remaining indoors, given, right now, we're told they have not found the suspect in this shooting.

GLICKMAN: Yes. We've heard the same thing. And we got an alert saying, you know, to stay indoors, not to leave your home.

You know, my dad was playing golf at his club and he was in the basement. They took everybody off the golf course and put them in the basement.

You know, it's just very scary, very scary. That he's still out there somewhere.

COLLINS: It's very scary, especially when you hear how you were saying this boy, who was 3 years old, has been separated from his family because there was such chaos on the scene.

GLICKMAN: Yes.

COLLINS: Obviously, we want them to be reunited as soon as possible.

Debbie, thank you for joining us and for sharing this vital information with us as we're learning more details about this and as we're waiting to hear from the police ourselves on more details.

Debbie, we will check back in with you. But thank you for helping us learn more about what happened and what you saw. We're so sorry this happened to you.

GLICKMAN: Thank you so much.

COLLINS: Absolutely.

I want to bring back in Keith Taylor who is still with us.

Keith, you heard from Debbie there as she was talking about the chaos here at the scene. But what does that say to you that we're learning, the suspect is still at large and has not been located yet?

KEITH TAYLOR, DEPARTMENT OF LAW, POLICE SCIENCE & CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION, JOHN JAY COLLEGE: I think that law enforcement is actively working on getting a good identification of what this individual looks like, the path of retreat, if it's more than one person.

So they're talking with the witnesses, with anyone who may have usable information, actual information.

Meanwhile, they have to shut down the location, shelter-in-place so that the individual or individuals involved does not have a safe haven or an opportunity to commit more murders.

So they're -- I'm sure law enforcement is working hard to get any information they can to identify who these individuals are so that they can stop them from committing more murders.

COLLINS: Obviously, Keith, they want to find the suspect as soon as possible.

You talked about the fact they're speaking to witnesses, people like what we were just talking to, Debbie and Myles, who were talking about what they saw on the ground.

Are they also reviewing security camera footage of these nearby businesses? We heard from Myles and others that they believed maybe the shots were potentially being fired from a rooftop. They weren't really quite sure where exactly these shots were coming from.

TAYLOR: They are reviewing the footage of the local businesses, of any video surveillance that's available. They're looking at the video taken by bystanders, if it has some sort of actual intelligence.

[13:45:04]

They are looking at what their own officers and other first responders can report about what they saw and experienced as this occurred.

There seems to be an indication that the suspect may have been elevated, so they'll be looking at any information that can help confirm what transpired, especially including past footage so they can piece together what occurred.

COLLINS: Right. Absolutely.

We should reiterate the suspect is still at large. We are about to get an update any moment now from authorities. We will be taking that live here on CNN, so please stay with us.

We're going to get a quick break in, but we'll be right back as we are learning more after five people at least have been killed at a shooting in Highland Park at a July 4th parade.

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[13:50:47]

COLLINS: We're following breaking news out of Highland Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where five people are dead an at least 16 being treated at hospitals following a shooting at a July 4th parade.

I want to bring in Lynn Sweet. She is the Washington bureau chief for "The Chicago Sun-Times." She also attended the parade and has family in the area.

So, Lynn, thank you so much for joining us.

Can you just tell us what you saw as you were at this parade? LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES" (via

telephone): Yes, this is a very sad day for Highland Park, Illinois.

Just so your listeners know, this is a suburb about 25 miles north of downtown Chicago. It hugs the Lake Michigan shore.

I was at the July 4th parade. And I saw people all of a sudden stampeding away from where I was standing. And people were shouting, "Shots fired."

And, Kaitlan, in short order I did pursue where people were fleeing from and. Sad to say, I saw multiple people shot. I saw bodies on the ground, at least three. And instantly the parade stopped, people scattered. Police came and told the crowd to disperse.

As we speak right now, it's still considered an active shooting incident and there are barricades all around downtown.

There are police on the nearby train station platform. And even the side streets are blocked by police who are here from various suburban police departments.

COLLINS: You can see from the images where this huge police presence is there. There are strollers, there are camp chairs, there's people's shoes.

And you posted a photo saying there was a bloodbath at this parade. And you can see this massive blood stain outside of this bench where this woman is walking near.

How many people did you see injured? I know you said you saw a few that had been shot.

SWEET: I saw about five people injured, three bodies. I saw other people bloodied.

The total official incident from the city of Highland Park right now is 16 people are at the hospital, five people confirmed dead. And of course, the shooter is still at large.

COLLINS: And how long had the parade been going on before you heard these shots?

SWEET: The shots were fired near the beginning of the parade, about 10 minutes after it started.

And, you know, I've been to this parade many years. I have family up here. This has always been a community highlight, a thing that brings everybody together.

And then the shooting started and everybody just ran, not knowing what to do.

I just finished walking through some of the streets of the parade and you see frozen in time, Kaitlan, you see baby carriages, bottle on the ground, backpacks where people just left everything where they fled. COLLINS: Absolutely. You see everything those people left. They

thought they were going to a July 4th parade and now --

SWEET: Yes.

COLLINS: -- and now it's turned into the deadly shooting.

Lynn, I know you have family in the area. What is this downtown area like where this parade takes place every year?

SWEET: It's a suburb of Chicago that has a small town feel to it. The downtown is intersected by the commuter rail station.

Again, to get a better location, if you go five blocks east, you're in one of the most beautiful lakeshores of Lake Michigan.

And this is a downtown with restaurants, small retail, not chains, that is just the center of the town.

Where the shooting took place was right by the viewing stand and the focal point of the parade.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: Lynn, we've heard from witnesses who say it was just obviously pure chaos as soon as this happened.

Lynn, one moment. We're going to go to the police who are updating us right now.

CHRIS COVELLI, SPOKESMAN, LAKE COUNTY MAJOR CRIME TASK FORCE: He's the commander with the Highland Park Police Department. He was the incident commander this morning.

[13:55:00]

We'll also have Mayor Nancy Rotering -- that's R-O-T-E-R-I-N-G -- the mayor of Highland Park.

And we'll also -- I will be speaking on behalf of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force. My name is Chris Covelli, C-O-V-E-L-L-I.

We'll start with Commander O'Neill.

CHRIS O'NEILL, PATROL COMMANDER, HIGHLAND PARK POLICE DEPARTMENT: Hello. My name is Commander Chris O'Neill.

First and foremost, we're all grieving for the families and friends who lost loved ones today, those injured. and everyone impacted by this horrific, senseless random act of violence.

I served as the incident commander on scene. I was present at approximately 10:14 when this started. There was an active shooter incident that occurred in downtown Highland Park during our Fourth of July holiday parade this morning.

This was an active incident and all individuals are urged to shelter in place at this time.

Highland Park police and numerous federal, state and law enforcement agencies are searching for the suspect.

The suspect is currently described as a male, white, approximately 18 to 20 years old, with longer black hair, a small build, and wearing a white or blue T-shirt.

A firearm has been recovered from the scene.

We have secured the perimeter around downtown Highland Park and are continuing our searches.

At this time, two dozen people have been transported to Highland Park Hospital. Six are confirmed deceased.

Anyone with video, photos or other evidence are urged to contact Highland Park police public safety dispatch at 847-432-7730. We will provide a tip line. This information will be in short order.

Thank you.

MAYOR NANCY ROTERING (D-HIGHLAND PARK, IL): This morning at 10:14, our community was terrorized by an act of violence that has shaken us to our core.

Our hearts go out to the families of the victims during this devastating time.

On a day that we came together to celebrate community and freedom, we're instead mourning the loss, the tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror that was brought upon us.

While we've all felt the burden of this terrible act, I want to pause and thank the first responders who ran towards the danger to render aid during this active shooter situation.

We saw individuals who responded selflessly and put themselves at risk to save others.

We've had an outpouring of support from federal, state, county and fellow municipalities, of resources and offers of condolences and concern. And we will avail ourselves of everything that they offer to us immediately.

At this point, we know that six people have lost their lives. And we are grieving for them and their families. Members of our community who came out to celebrate together and, instead, faced this terror. Another 24 have been transported to the hospital.

Multiple agencies, including the FBI and state police, are working with our local authorities and the governor has offered his full support.

What we know at this time is this is an active situation and we urgent everyone to remain indoors and be on high alert but remain calm. Please contact your loved ones and ensure that they're safe and let

them know that you're safe as well.

This situation, as you know, is evolving rapidly and we will continue to update you as we gain information and stabilize the situation.

Thank you.

COVELLI: So from a team management perspective, at this point, it is still a very active scene. Highland Park Police Department is leading this investigation, as well as the apprehension efforts into the offender involved here.

As the mayor said, as the commander said, we're asking everyone to stay indoors and stay vigilant.

This person is not identified. By all means, at this point, this appears to be completely random.

So with that, there have been questions that have been coming in, are events safe tonight. That's up to each individual community to assess on their own, make that determination.

But, no, this person is not yet in custody. We have hundreds of police officers out here. As the mayor said, from the FBI, the state police, other federal agencies. We have SWAT teams that are going door to door as well.

Anybody with any video surveillance is strongly encouraged to contact the Highland Park Police Department so we can take a look at that and it can be useful in our investigation.

The FBI is working hand in hand with the Lake County Major Crime Task Force right now processing the scene. It will be a very methodical processing of the scene. And an investigation has commenced and is under way.

We're going to do our very best to provide updates every 30 minutes to an hour, if we can. We will keep the community informed.

And with that, we thank you for covering this and sharing this information. Again, very sad day here.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What kind of gun was recovered?

COVELLI: It was a rifle.

[13:59:57]

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you know any information on where the suspect could be right now? Is he at all barricaded?

COVELLI: There's no indication he's barricaded anywhere or has any hostages. That has been circling around. There's no indication of that.