An Illinois mother was livestreaming the Highland Park July 4 parade when gunfire erupted, prompting mass panic as paradegoers scattered.
Witness Gina Troiani, whose son was scheduled to walk in the parade with his daycare class, described the shooting Tuesday on "America's Newsroom," detailing the moment she knew it was time to flee for safety.
"I was filming because it was the happiest moment of these kids' lives at that moment, then it quickly turned into the worst day that we will ever remember," Troiani told hosts Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer.
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Six people were killed, and dozens more paradegoers were injured on Monday after the alleged gunman opened fire on the Independence Day celebration.
The ages of the victims ranged from eight to 85, according to police.
"We noticed the crowd scattering, running in opposite directions and police running towards the noise," Troiani said. "That's when we got all the children and pushed them to the side and told them that let's go… let's run in the opposite direction."
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"We told the children that it was probably just fireworks, but let's be safe and go in the opposite direction and get out of here," she continued. "Meanwhile, many people were yelling, active shooter, it's a shooter, and it became very chaotic and very scary fast."
The suspect was arrested after a manhunt ensued for several hours, and remains in police custody.
Police recovered the firearm reportedly used in the shooting from a nearby rooftop.