At 5 pm Swedish time, a national day celebration in the suburb of Highland Park in northern Chicago turned from a party of joy into a scene of horror. Ten minutes into the celebration, the first shots were fired, causing hundreds of people to flee the site that had previously been the scene of a national day parade. So far, the shooting has claimed six lives and about thirty people are being treated in hospital for their injuries.
On Monday night, the White House released a public statement where President Joe Biden expresses his deep shock along with his wife Jill Biden.
“The indiscriminate violence has once again filled American society with grief this national day,” he writes.
Biden: “I do not intend to give up”
In his statement, President Joe Biden promised to continue fighting to end gun violence in the United States.
– I recently signed the first cross-party law we have had in 30 years, it includes actions that will save lives. But much more needs to be done. I do not intend to give up the fight against the gun violence epidemic, he continues.
He further writes that he has offered his support and that federal agencies are assisting local police in the search for the perpetrator who is still at large.