According to authorities, a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago neighborhood of Highland Park, Illinois, on Monday left six people dead and roughly 24 more with significant injuries.

Police in Highland Park are still looking for the shooter, who is a male between the ages of 18 and 20.

According to authorities, it appears the shooter fired from a roof from where a powerful weapon was found.

According to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek, six victims — all adults — died at a hospital and five died at the scene.

A total of 31 patients were reported by the NorthShore University Health System; the majority had gunshot wounds, while a few others were harmed in the commotion. According to Highland Park Fire Chief Joe Schrage, at least one youngster has serious injuries. The shooting was a “random act of violence,” according to the police.

The gunfire started when the march was roughly three-quarters of the way through, according to the officials. Partygoers ran away in a panic, leaving empty strollers, turned-over seats, and half-eaten sandwiches in their wake.

According to Lake County Sheriff Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli, when police arrived to the shooting, the shooter had already left.

Parade goer Zoe Nicole Pawelczak grabbed her father and ran through the crowd when the shooting started.

She told a source, “I saw several people slain.”

“Everyone is in tears. We ultimately succeeded in hiding behind a corner and a trash can. This man had placed his two very young children in the dumpster for protection while he was there with them “She spoke. When she begged Pawelczak to watch the two kids in the dumpster, she was told that the dad wanted to depart to find his other son.

She explained, “So I watched his kids for him.” “What’s happening, they questioned. And I tried to calm them down by saying, “It’s only fireworks, it’s OK.””

Jon Will attended the procession with his wheelchair-bound 97-year-old mother. He told ABC News that the family hastened to shoo his mother into an alley so she could hide.

“In a small community like this, things like this don’t happen. simply incredible “He spoke to a source. “It’s frightening. I’m not sure what the state of the world is at. It is absurd.” While at the march, Rep. Brad Schneider, a Democrat from Illinois, tweeted that he was pledging himself “to take all necessary steps to make our children, our cities, and our country safer. It’s enough already!”

Anyone who attended the march is urged to review their videos and give them to the police.

According to a law enforcement source, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has agents on the scene and is running an immediate trace on the seized gun.

Following the shooting, the nearby suburb of Evanston canceled its own Fourth of July parade, according to Evanston police.

According to a statement from the president, Joe Biden, he has “urged Federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter.”

“Community members should heed the advice of local leadership, and I will watch with particular attention as we learn more about those whose lives have been lost and pray for others who are in the hospital with severe injuries,” stated Biden. He said, “But there is much more work to do, and I’m not going to give up battling the plague of gun violence,” after recently signing the most major gun control legislation in decades.

JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, made an emotional speech “There are no words to describe the kind of monster that lurks in the shadows and opens fire on a group of people enjoying a holiday with their community. The level of depravity that robs our neighbors of their futures, hopes, and dreams is beyond description.

The governor noted that prayers alone cannot end the terror of the widespread gun violence in our nation. “We must, and we will, put an end to the gun epidemic.

“Just three weeks ago, young people organized a March For Our Lives in Highland Park, along with communities across the country,” stated representatives of the gun control organization March For Our Lives, which was created by survivors of the 2018 Parkland, Florida, high school mass shooting.

We are in mourning at the awful death toll in Highland Park and the bloodshed a powerful weapon caused, they declared. We shall battle tooth and nail for the living while wishing the deceased eternal peace.

Authorities have long been concerned about shooters firing from high ground, which they claim can offer them a tactical edge.

The 2017 Las Vegas shooting massacre, in which the shooter positioned himself in a window of the Mandalay Bay hotel, is the bloodiest illustration of that. The mass shooting that became the bloodiest in modern U.S. history claimed the lives of 59 individuals.

Law enforcement increased their focus on guarding elevated areas around public events after the Vegas shooting, but authorities have admitted how difficult it is to secure every one of these places.