VP Kamala Harris Visits Mass Shooting Scene

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Highland Park, Illinois, the backdrop of a July 4th mass shooting when a shooter opened fire at a parade on Monday which killed seven people, and injured at least 30. The vice president flew to the crime scene bringing a message of condolences to the victim’s families, and a call for bans on guns, or stricter gun controls.

“We’ve got to be smarter as a country in terms of who has access to what, in particular assault weapons,” Harris said in a speech.  “And we’ve got to take this stuff seriously. The whole nation should understand and have a level of empathy to understand that this could happen anywhere in any peace-loving community. And we should stand together and speak out about why it’s got to stop.”

The Chicago Tribune reported that Kamala Harris has called for a federal ban on guns. Meanwhile, Gov. J.B. Pritzker called for a state-level ban.

The shooter was apprehended Monday afternoon after an hours long manhunt by law enforcers. Robert E. “Bobby” Crimo III, 21 years old, has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in Lake County, Illinois. The police and prosecutors allege that the shooter planned the attack weeks in advance. According to the Lake County Major Crime Task Force Spokesperson Chris Covelli, the shooter disguised as a woman to avoid detection, and hide recognizable facial tattoos. He climbed a fire escape ladder to reach the roof of a building and then fired into a Fourth of July parade in full swing. Crimo escaped from the building’s roof, dropped the rifle, and blended in with the crowd. Upon the shooter’s arrest, police found another rifle in his vehicle and three other guns. All the weapons, including the one used in the mass shooting, were legally purchased, says the police.