Fourth of July Crowds Flee Mass Shootings, Real and Imagined

Mike Letterman

Jul 5, 2022, 12:42 PM
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In at least five U.S. cities, the Fourth of July parade and fireworks were disrupted by people fleeing what they thought was a mass shooter. Only two of the incidents involved firearms, and the other three were misunderstandings that caused people to run for their lives.

Highland Park, Illinois, where six people were killed and at least 36 were injured in a mass shooting, was one of the places where the danger was very real. A person of interest has been arrested, but no motive has been established.

There was a lot of panic in Philadelphia, where two police officers were injured by gunfire during a concert. The crowd tried to get out of the area after learning of the shootings. According to CNN, no suspects have been arrested yet and it is not known if the gunfire was intentional. Some people have a tradition of shooting guns into the air on the 4th of July.

The panic of a mass shooting was experienced by other cities. Crowds had gathered for fireworks at Eola Lake in Florida on Monday. The crowd thought it was gunshots when they heard nearby crackers. A group of people were injured in a crush.

Crowds started running in the middle of the night after people thought a mass shooting was taking place. People are seen leaving the area in a video posted to social media. It was more of a firework show.

I ordered food with my friend and his girlfriend at one of the burger places. One witness told ABC 27 that at least 200 people ran up Front Street after someone yelled gun.

The National Mall in Washington, D.C. was the scene of an incident after the big fireworks display. People thought it was a mass shooting when someone in the area set off fireworks.

Readers are able to see images and video from the incidents on Monday, but viewer discretion is advised. Blood can be seen in some of the photographs from Highland Park.