A shooting that left at least six people dead in an Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb has disrupted Monday’s celebrations across the United States and has also rocked an already invaded country in turmoil over decisions. of the high court on abortion and weapons, and the Jan. 6 hearing. insurrection.
The latest mass shooting came as the nation tried to find a cause to celebrate its founding and the ties that still hold it together. It should be a day to get to work, flocking to parades, devouring hot dogs and burgers to barbecues in the backyard and gathering under a canopy of stars and explosions of fireworks.
“On a day when we come together to celebrate community and freedom, we are instead mourning the tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror that has been brought upon us,” said Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering.
The Highland Park parade began around 10 a.m. but was suddenly stopped 10 minutes later after the shots were fired. Hundreds of parades – some visibly bloody – fled the area, leaving chairs, strollers and blankets. Authorities took an interested person into custody Monday evening.
As the Highland Park community mourned, fireworks began to thunder in nearby towns and across the country. Pyrotechnics flourished shortly after nightfall in Boston and New York City, where a colorful kaleidoscope exploded over the Hudson River and illuminated skyscrapers.
President Joe Biden, in remarks Monday celebrating the 246th anniversary of America’s independence, sought to reassure a nation both tired and troubled by recent events.
“In recent days, there has been reason to think that this country is moving backwards, that freedom is being reduced, that the rights we presumed were protected are no longer there,” Biden said in remarks to military families. and administration officials enjoying a picnic on the South Lawn. of the White House. “I know it can be exhausting and disturbing, but tonight I want you to know that we’re going to go through all of this.”
Biden said many people see a divided country, but “I think we are more united than divided.”
He tweeted earlier in the day about the shooting, calling it “senseless gun violence that has also brought pain to an American community on this day of independence.”
“I will not give up fighting the epidemics of gun violence,” the president tweeted.
These are precarious times: an economic recession is looming, and the Highland Park shooting will weigh down an already crude national psyche from mass shootings like those seen recently at a Texas elementary school and a New York supermarket.
Strong social and political divisions have also been exposed by recent Supreme Court decisions overturning the constitutional right to abortion and overturning a restrictive New York law that can carry a gun in public.
However, many had reason to gather and celebrate for the first time in three years amid ease of coronavirus precautions.
Nathan’s famous July 4th hot dog food contest has returned to its traditional place in Brooklyn’s Coney Island neighborhood after two years elsewhere thanks to the pandemic.
“It’s nice to be back here,” Joey “Jaws” Chestnut told ESPN after winning the men’s competition by shooting down 63 hot dogs and sandwiches – even though he momentarily spotted a protester rushing onto the stage. Miki Sudo raised 40 francs to win the women’s event.
Colorful displays are programmed to illuminate the night sky from coast to coast. However, others, particularly in drought-prone western regions and prone to wildfires, will abandon them.
Fireworks were the suspected cause behind a fire in Centerville, Utah, which led to the evacuation of dozens of homes and the cancellation of some of its Independence Day events, they said. officials.
It was a different matter in Phoenix, going back without fireworks – not because of the pandemic or the fire, but because of supply chain problems.
In emotional ceremonies across the country, some have sworn in as citizens, sworn in to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.
During a ceremony for naturalized citizens held in Mount Vernon, the Washington home of George Washington, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told 52 people from 42 different countries that they were essential to building a strong workforce.
“Immigrants strengthen our workforce, and, in the process, help drive the resilience and vitality of our economy,” Yellen said in remarks prepared for Monday’s event.
For many, July 4 is also an opportunity to put aside political differences and celebrate unity, reflecting on the revolution that has given birth to the longest-running democracy in history.
“There’s always something that divides or unites us,” says Eli Merritt, a political historian at Vanderbilt University, whose next book traces the founding of the United States.
But he sees the Jan. 6 hearing that provoked last year’s assault on the U.S. Capitol as a cause for hope, an opportunity to rally behind democratic institutions. Although not all Americans or their elected representatives agree with the committee’s work, Merritt is encouraged by the fact that he is at least a little bipartisan.
“Moral courage as a place for Americans to put hope, the will to defend what is right and true despite the negative consequences for itself,” he said. “This is an essential part of constitutional democracy.”
Calvan reported from New York, and Foody from Chicago. Associated Press journalists Michael Tarm and Roger Schneider in Highland Park, Illinois; Darlene Superville and Fatima Hussein in Washington; Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana; and Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this story.
