Highland Park parade shooting one year later: Community reflects, mourns deadly massacre
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. - Neighbors in Highland Park came together Tuesday one year after an unthinkable tragedy.
Today marks one year since the mass shooting at last year's July 4th parade that left seven dead and dozens of others wounded.
Highland Park families returned to the Fourth of July activities because they said they had to. The community has been bound together by shared suffering. By recognizing their pain, residents made their mark this extraordinary Independence Day.
In a memorial ceremony, Mayor Nancy Rotering led a minute of silence to remember the lives lost last July 4th.
Highland Park commemorates one-year since parade shooting with day of reflection and remembrance
As the nation celebrates the Fourth of July, it's a day of reflection and remembrance in Highland Park.
It was held on the lawn of city hall, attended by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
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Each part of the day was prepared with consideration of those impacted by the mass shooting: 83 rounds of gunfire in one minute that changed Highland Park forever.
"This morning, we remember those who were murdered and we remember those whose lives were forever altered," Rotering said. "Our hearts will always ache for the families and friends who are left behind to grapple with the pain of their loss. There is nothing we can say that will fill the holes torn in their hearts or heal those who were irreparably harmed."
After the ceremony, officials and attendees took a walk to reclaim their downtown streets. No one wanted to parade or fireworks this year, according to the mayor. The wounds of last year are still healing.
There are some people who chose to leave town, but the mayor said that 5,000 people registered to participate in these activities, which were covered by heavy security so that people can feel safe and Highland Park again.