In painful, chilling detail, witnesses recount the deadly mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade
CHICAGO — The first popping noises sounded like firecrackers or maybe a gun salute honoring the American flag.
Then someone screamed, “There’s a shooter.”
And, in an instant, everyone understood the reality.
This is the country of Uvalde. Of the Tops Friendly Markets store. Of the Waukesha Christmas parade.
They grabbed their children under the arms and ran.
They left behind strollers, lawn chairs, cellphones and purses. They took only what mattered.
“People were terrified, screaming,” Highland Park resident Joe Leslie said. “It was a scene from a nightmare.”
It’s a story witnesses to the told over and over again in the hours after the tragedy. In painful, chilling detail they recounted how someone opened fire during an annual community celebration, killing at least six people, injuring more than two dozen and leaving an
