Governor Pritzker’s Statement on Shooting in Highland Park

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker attends a news conference at Highland Park Fire Department station 33., after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Governor Pritzker is calling for action on gun violence following the deadly mass shooting during a July 4th parade in Highland Park. The governor said he is furious that more innocent lives were taken by gun violence, proclaiming that mass shootings have become an “American tradition.” He added that our founders would not have said a person has a constitutional right to an assault weapon with a high capacity magazine.

Governor Pritzker’s Statement on Shooting in Highland Park

Today, I ask all Illinoisans to pray for the families who have been devastated by the evil unleashed this morning in Highland Park, for those who have lost loved ones and for those who have been injured. I also ask that we all pray for our first responders at all levels of government who are actively working to bring the suspect into custody, and whose bravery undoubtedly saved innocent lives on the scene.

There are no words for the kind of monster who lies in wait and fires into a crowd of families with children celebrating a holiday with their community. There are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams, their futures. There are no words I can offer to lift the pain of those they leave behind. Please know that our state grieves with you, that MK and I grieve with you.

But grief will not bring the victims back, and prayers alone will not put a stop to the terror of rampant gun violence in our country.

I will stand firm with Illinoisans and Americans: we must – and we will – end this plague of gun violence.