Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker lamented Monday’s mass shooting at an Independence Day parade as a sad new American tradition.
Pritzker expressed his horror at the Monday attack that killed six people and left between 31 and 36 injured. The attack, which came during what is usually a day of celebration in the United States, highlighted the problem with gun violence in the country, he added.
TWO HIGHLAND PARK SHOOTING VICTIMS IDENTIFIED
“While we celebrate the 4th of July just once a year, mass shootings have become our weekly, yes weekly, American tradition,” Pritzker said.
There have been more than 300 mass shootings in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Congress took a major step last month when it passed bipartisan legislation aimed at curbing gun violence.
While he was addressing Monday’s tragedy, President Joe Biden acknowledged the historic legislation, the first substantial gun bill passed since 1994. But he said that despite the cooperation in Congress, there is still more that must happen.
“There is nothing guaranteed about our way of life,” Biden said. “We have to fight for it, defend it, and earn it by voting.”
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Police have arrested a person of interest in Monday’s shooting. Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III, a 21-year-old rapper, was arrested after police said a “significant amount of digital evidence” helped lead investigators to Crimo.
A review of videos by the Washington Examiner on a blog Crimo hosted, which has since been taken down, showed several posts that might have previewed Crimo’s alleged plans to attack the parade on Monday.
