Police Respond to Shooting at Highland Park Fourth of July Parade

A shooting caused hundreds of people to flee for safety from the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., on Monday morning, the authorities said.

The Illinois State Police said on Twitter that they were assisting the local police with a shooting at the parade. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office urged people to stay away from the area.

It was not immediately clear whether there were any injuries or deaths.

Representative Brad Schneider, who represents Highland Park, a northern Chicago suburb, in Congress, said he was at the start of the parade when someone began to shoot. He said he and his staff were safe and in contact with the city’s mayor.

Nancy Rotering, the mayor, said on Twitter that the police were on the scene and urged residents to avoid downtown Highland Park.

The nearby village of Deerfield canceled its own holiday event because of the incident.

One attendee, Lisa Schulkin, said the chaos began shortly after the parade started at 10 a.m. “All of a sudden you just heard the gunshots, multiple and quick in a row, and then masses, masses of people running,” she told a local news station, WGN9. “The streets were just filled with people running, kids crying,” she added.

Ms. Schulkin said that she was in a parking lot and hid under a car with several others until about 10:45, when her husband was able to arrive nearby and she could reach his car. Local news footage showed folding chairs, parade vehicles and floats — some decorated in American flags and red, white and blue tinsel — abandoned in the street.

Highland Park is a suburb that is home to about 30,000 people. It is situated along the Lake Michigan shore, about 25 miles north of downtown Chicago.