On Monday, multiple people are feared dead after a reported shooting at a 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
According to the Chicago Sun, witnesses say crowds fled the parade, and others saw at least five people lying on the ground and another under a blanket.
At this moment, the number of victims remains unclear. The suspect has not been caught, and police have reportedly requested a canine unit to assist in finding the gunman.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker stated to WGN that he believes there are at least nine shooting victims. The outlet reported that at least two were killed, according to unnamed law enforcement sources.
The Associated Press later confirmed that police say five people were killed, and 19 have been hospitalized.
Video shot by a Sun-Times journalist after the gunfire rang out shows a band on a float continuing to play as people run past, screaming. A photo posted to social media appeared to show pools of blood near upturned chairs in downtown Highland Park.
Gina Troiani and her son were lined up with his daycare class ready to walk onto the parade route when she heard a loud sound that she believed was fireworks — until she heard people yell about a shooter.
“We just start running in the opposite direction,” she told The Associated Press.
“People started saying: ‘There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter, there’s a shooter,’” another witness told the Associated Press. “So we just ran. We just ran. It’s like mass chaos down there.”