The July Fourth parade held in Highland Park, Illinois, descended into chaos at around 10.14am, ten minutes after it started, when a gunman with a high-powered rifle opened fire on parade-goers from a rooftop—killing at least six people and injuring 38 others. A now-deleted video, first shared on TikTok, showed hundreds of marchers, parents with strollers and children on bicycles fleeing in terror after hearing the gunshots. Blankets and chairs were also left strewn along the route as people abandoned their belongings to run for safety.

https://twitter.com/SiIentRunning/status/1544040782813954051

WARNING: This is what a mass shooting looks and sounds like.

Just horrifying.

Highland Park

Videos taken from Reddit pic.twitter.com/Ssq3bXV0Zu

— Jim Drastic (@JimDrastic) July 4, 2022

Five adults were killed on the scene while one died after being transported to the hospital, Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said, as noted by Insider. About 26 of those wounded, aged between eight to 85, were sent to the NorthShore University Health Centre. All but one had gunshot wounds, said the hospital’s medical director of emergency preparedness, Dr. Brigham Temple.

At a news conference, Temple mentioned that nineteen of the patients were treated and released. Among the rest, some were in critical and serious conditions while a few were transferred to nearby trauma centres.

my after math of the highland park shooting. im still in shock. i am so sorry for everyone who lost loved ones today pic.twitter.com/NPG4d0YyVn

— lilli ≧◡≦ (@h4ndcrushed) July 5, 2022

Police claim the gunman opened fire from a nearby roof which was accessed from an “unsecured” ladder in a back alleyway. “There’s no indication he’s barricaded anywhere or has any hostages,” said Christopher Covelli, spokesperson for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force. “It does appear he was shooting from a roof. The roof he was shooting from, I have no indication of that right now.” At the time, Covelli didn’t disclose a motive for the shooting but said it “appears to be completely random.”

Following an hours-long manhunt around Highland Park, police arrested Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III after being identified as a “person of interest.” The 22-year-old was taken into custody near Lake Forest after being stopped by a North Chicago officer who attempted to initiate a traffic spot. According to authorities, Crimo engaged the officer in a brief pursuit but was ultimately arrested without incident.

Covelli said, “Calling somebody a suspect or person of interest, it’s really synonymous… This individual is believed to have been responsible for what happened and the investigation will continue. Charges have not been approved yet at this time—and we are a long way from that.”

This is the moment parade shooting suspect Bobby Crimo was taken into custody by police in Chicago's northern suburbs. https://t.co/tvQ02c3mXC @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/TBNgaDlsyw

— Ben Bradley (@BenBradleyTV) July 4, 2022

According to numerous profiles that allegedly belong to Crimo, he has left a long trail of tributes to mass shootings and public killings across social media platforms. As noted by NBC News, Crimo performed as a rapper who went by the name “Awake,” whose recent music videos included depictions of mass murder.

“Crimo’s most recent video posted to YouTube showed him in the aftermath of a school shooting. It ends with Crimo draping himself in an American flag,” the publication mentioned. Another video featured a cartoon animation of a stick-figure shooter resembling Crimo. Here, he was depicted lying face down on the floor in a pool of his own blood surrounded by police officers with their guns drawn.

“The YouTube account that hosted his videos, which had previously been accessible to the public, was unavailable Monday night,” NBS News added.

Crimo also had his own Discord server, where he would chat with his “fans.” The community allegedly featured a politics board filled with nihilistic memes. Here, members would often share posts that Crimo had made of himself. “One apparent selfie Crimo took in March reads: ‘Cursed image screenshot and send to everyone or commit not alive anymore’, a reference to suicide,” NBC News went on to note.

What’s worse is that after Monday’s shooting, 4chan trolls swarmed the Discord server in question—using it as a meeting point to appreciate the shooter and upload memes about the attack. Crimo also posted frequently to a message board within the community that discussed graphic depictions of murder, suicide and death. “His most recent post to that message board came last week, when he posted a video of a beheading,” the publication added.

Meanwhile, Paul A. Crimo, an uncle of the suspect, told CNN that he saw no warning signs that would prompt him to believe his nephew would have been involved in such a tragedy. “I have nothing bad to say about him,” he admitted. “He’s a quiet kid. He’s usually on his own. He’s a lonely, quiet person. He keeps everything to himself.” A. Crimo went on to mention how his nephew lives in an apartment behind the house owned by his father—adding that he last saw him on Sunday evening looking at his computer and not acting out of the ordinary.

FBI at Highwood, IL, home right now about a mile and a half from Highland Park shooting scene. Neighbor tells me Robert “Bobby” Crimo III lives here with family. pic.twitter.com/p4uBu8M8XW

— Jenna Barnes (@Jenna_Barnes) July 4, 2022

While the city’s “Fourth Fest” has been cancelled and the public is being urged to avoid the downtown area, it should be noted that the Highland Park parade tragedy marked the eleventh mass shooting over the Fourth of July weekend alone as gun violence escalates across the US.

To name some, four people were injured in a mass shooting in Tacoma, Washington around 9pm on Sunday. Authorities also responded to another mass shooting at 11.51pm on Sunday in Manassas, Virginia, where four men were injured. Six others were wounded at around 9.30pm on Saturday in Clinton, North Carolina—including an infant and a 12-year-old. Two people died and four others were injured at 6.45pm on Saturday night in Haltom City, Texas. And in Queens, New York, one person died and three people were injured after a shooter entered a mechanic shop and opened fire at around 9.40pm.

Children sheltering in place in the basement of a Highland Park business

They colour in their red white and blue while their parents wait to find out if there’s a gunman on the loose outside. @cbschicago https://t.co/NC7aWOHSnJ pic.twitter.com/iB7cFANgdK

— Marissa Parra (@MarParNews) July 4, 2022

On the other end of it all, a Twitter user posted screengrabs of automated firework animation playing over the heartbreaking news of the mass shooting after Googling ‘fourth of july’. This is the real America.

God bless America pic.twitter.com/BjVbymWJ1F

— Sawbuck Wine (@sawbuckwine) July 4, 2022

If you have any images or video related to the shooting that occurred at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in Illinois, please submit them to https://t.co/Iyq3tRCD8T. pic.twitter.com/CU1i6UIriG

— FBI (@FBI) July 4, 2022

In the aftermath of the deadly Uvalde school shooting last month—where an 18-year-old gunman killed 21 people, 19 of which were children—a nationwide-cry for gun control has gripped US politics, but perhaps not directly in the ways people had hoped. In impeccably ironic timing, Ohio’s new gun laws, first presented in March 2022, came into effect this week and brought changes that would make it more accessible for school staff, including teachers and bus drivers, to carry guns in the state. This has been accomplished by cutting the required training hours from 700 to just 24.

The legislation, named House Bill 99, was signed into law by Republican Governor Mike DeWine and officially came into effect on Monday 13 June 2022. Those aged 21 and above would also no longer be required to carry a permit for their weapon or even complete the eight-hour course that educates you on carrying and concealing a gun under the bill. Basically, they’ve just made it even easier for people to get their hands on the weapon in question. The law has also dropped the need for such firearm carriers to inform police officers of their concealed weapon. However, they must divulge the same when asked.

According to The Guardian, DeWine’s statement after the bill passed earlier this month was as follows: “My office worked with the general assembly to remove hundreds of hours of curriculum irrelevant to school safety and to ensure training requirements were specific to a school environment and contained significant scenario-based training.” He continued by thanking the state’s law body “for passing this bill to protect Ohio children and teachers.”

The governor went on to further elucidate that school districts still have jurisdiction over whether or not they permit or prohibit guns on their individual school grounds—making the decision ultimately theirs. While arming their staff will not be a requirement, all parents of children at the school must be notified if they wish to do so. School boards will also have the authority to mandate additional training hours beyond the new 24 hour rule state law, as reported by The Guardian.

It goes without saying that the move has received obvious backlash and criticism from politicians, police and teachers alike. Both The Ohio Federation of Teachers and Ohio Education Association pressed the Republican governor to veto the bill alongside the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio—who previously argued that 24 hours is not enough training time, as noted by Insider. Past research has shown that there is simply very little evidence (if any) that suggests arming teachers has an effect on reducing fatality in school shootings or even the frequency of the shootings themselves at all.

The state’s Republican lawmakers have additionally stated that the bill was a “doing something” as a reaction to the recent Uvalde mass murder. However, as reported by The Guardian, Democratic politicians in Ohio have rejected these claims—stating that this is not the gun reform people wanted. “They’re not asking for no guns. They’re asking for background checks,” state representative Juanita Brent, a Democrat from Cleveland said upon the bill’s passing.