Lake County Gazette

At least seven people were killed and dozens more injured during a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park in what Senate Republican leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) called “an attack on America.”

McConchie offered his condolences to the entire Highland Park community and thanked law enforcement, first responders, doctors and paramedics for jumping into action.

“As we continue to mourn and grieve with the people of Highland Park, the recovery and healing of this horrific act of domestic terrorism will be a long journey ahead,” McConchie wrote in a statement. “During a time when fellow Americans, our neighbors, were celebrating our great nation, we witnessed pure evil. This will be a tragedy never forgotten.” 

It was during an Independence Day parade that a man began firing into the crowd of people from a rooftop, a Wednesday ABC 7 Chicago report said. Police identified Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, 22, as a person of interest in the shooting. Crimo was arrested in Lake Forest approximately eight hours after the shooting. 

In a statement, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering called it a "terribly difficult day" for the city.

"Our hearts are broken for the victims and their families," Rotering said in the statement. "As we always do, we will support each other. We are Highland Park strong."

Crimo is a rapper who goes by the name Awake the Rapper, a report from Axios said. Videos on his YouTube channel, all of which have since been taken down, showed images of mass murders. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker also asked for prayers for the victims' families who were "devastated by the evil unleashed," a statement on Illinois.gov said. 

"There are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams, their futures," the governor said in the statement. "There are no words I can offer to lift the pain of those they leave behind."

Pritzker also vowed in the statement to stand firm in his efforts to put a stop to "this plague of gun violence."