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Highland Park shooting: Terrified father hid his son in dumpster to save his life from crazed gunman

Sandoval, the Highland Park father, broke down in tears as he recalled seeing bodies after narrowly saving his son

WARNING: Content may be distressing, viewers discretion advised

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: It seems like mass shootings are not going to stop in the USA anytime soon. Just a few days after the terrifying school shootout in Texas, another gunman, identified as Robert E Crimo III, gunned down and killed six people and wounded several others at a Fourth July parade in Chicago, Illinois. A terrified father described how he had to hide his 5-year-old child in a dumpster to escape from the crazed gunman. 

The unfortunate incident took place just a few minutes after people started the 4th of July celebrations in Highland Park, Chicago. The shooter unleashed a barrage of bullets on the crowd leaving six people dead and more than 30 people severely wounded. It was total chaos as everyone present at the scene ran for cover, abandoning the items they had brought with them to avoid getting shot or killed. 

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Alexander Sandoval who is a construction contractor and a local resident shared his traumatic and horrifying experience. He recounted how he was desperate to get his child to a safe place amid all the carnage around him. He told the New York Times “When it started happening, I thought it was the Navy saluting the flag. Then I grabbed my kid and we ran and tried to break a store window to get away from it. I was punching the door but couldn’t punch through it. I think the shooter stopped and reloaded, and that’s when I ran around the corner and put my son and little brother in a dumpster, and his dog.” Sandoval broke down in tears as he recalled seeing a police officer carrying away a little boy who was shot, realizing the boy could very well have been his own son.

The 22-year-old alleged shooter is said to have opened fire from the roof of what was an outdoor outfitting store. Many witnesses spoke about the dreadful scenes that they saw in the parade which even included a few children being killed by the gunman from the rooftop. A woman, who gave her name only Zoe, told CNN: “All of a sudden everyone behind us started running. I looked back, probably 20 feet away from me, I saw a girl shot and killed. I saw her die. I’ve never seen anything like this.” 

Sandoval who was completely in tears described the entire incident as an act of terror and told that he saw police carrying a body of a young boy who was shot in the parade. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement: “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.”