5 dead, 16 hospitalised as gunman opens fire at a Fourth of July parade

Five people were killed and 16 others wounded when a gunman opened fire at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb today, July 4.

Today is Independence Day in the United States of America and parades are taking place across the country.

Ten minutes after the Highland Park Fourth of July parade kicked off, a shooter opened fire, authorities said.

Shortly after noon, the Highland Park police said it remained an “active incident” and urged people to stay away.

A Chicago Sun-Times reporter saw blankets covering three bloodied bodies and five other people wounded and bloodied near the parade’s reviewing stand.

Several witnesses said they heard multiple shots fired. One witness said he counted more than 20 shots.

Miles Zaremski, a Highland Park resident, told the Sun-Times: “I heard 20 to 25 shots, which were in rapid succession. So it couldn’t have been just a handgun or a shotgun.

Zaremski said he saw “people in that area that got…