A suspect is in custody in connection with the mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Illinois on Monday that killed 6 people, and injured over 20 more.  The shooting took place just after 10 a.m. along a holiday parade route in suburban Highland Park, about 30 miles north of Chicago. Authorities said that in addition to the six deaths, 26 people were taken to NorthShore University Health System with injuries, ranging from 8 years old to 85 years old.

Police Chief Louis Jogmen told reporters that 22-year-old Robert Crimo III, identified as a “person of interest” in connection the mass shooting, was arrested without incident in Lake Forest, Ill. after a brief pursuit by car, Highland Park, Ill.  Crimo was into custody by Highland Park officers, and no charges had been filed against Crimo as of press time. Authorities offered no immediate motives for the shootings. Lake County Major Crime Task Force Sgt. Christopher Covelli told reporters that investigators recovered the rifle used in the shooting from the scene. He said it appeared the gunman was “shooting from a roof.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement: “There are no words for the kind of monster who lives in wait and fires into a crowd of families with children celebrating a holiday with their community. There are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams, their futures. Prayers alone will not put a stop to the terror of rampant gun violence in our country. We must — and we will — end this plague of gun violence.”

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden also spoke out, saying they were “shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day.”

Editorial credit: Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock.com