A shooter opened fire during a parade to mark US Independence Day in the state of Illinois, killing at least 6 people, American media reported, citing officials.
The shooting in the city of Highland Park, located near Chicago, also left 24 people wounded, according to the reports.
Highland Park announced that all July 4 festivities had been canceled as a result.
US Representative Brad Schneider, who was at the event, said on Twitter that “a shooter struck in Highland Park during the Independence Day parade.”
“Hearing of loss of life and others injured. My condolences to the family and loved ones; my prayers for the injured and for my community,” he wrote, adding: “Enough is enough!”
Firearms cause approximately 40,000 deaths a year in the United States, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.
The debate over gun control — a deeply divisive issue in the country — was reignited by two massacres in May that saw 10 Black supermarket shoppers gunned down in upstate New York and 21 people, mostly young children, slain at an elementary school in Texas.
Congress passed the first significant bill on gun safety in decades in the wake of those killings. President Joe Biden signed it into law in late June, saying that while it falls short of what is really needed, it will still save lives.
© Agence France-Presse