Donald Trump-endorsed candidate for governor of Illinois, state Sen. Darren Bailey told the community to “move on and celebrate” America’s independence shortly after six people were killed and two dozen others wounded during a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
Bailey went live on Facebook hours after the mass shooting about 20 minutes away in Skokie, a town south of Highland Park. He called for prayers for the families of the victims of the shooting, law enforcement and organizers of Skokie’s July fourth parade that was canceled, then urged the community to “move on.”
“There’s a lot of confusion, frustration that the parade’s being canceled. They did the right thing because people’s safety has got to come first,” Bailey said. “The shooter is still at large, so let’s pray for justice to prevail and now let’s move on and celebrate the independence of this nation.”
He continued: “We know the mission, we have got to get corruption and evil out of our government, and we have got to elect men and women of honor and of courage to get this country and this state back on track.”
Bailey then ended with a prayer asking God to “bless us and protect us as we go about our day celebrating the most amazing country.”
After receiving backlash Bailey released a statement apologizing “if in any way we diminished the pain being felt across our state today,” VICE News reports.
“I am heartbroken by today’s tragic events and the pain and loss felt by so many. My intent was to pray for the victims and those affected by today’s tragedy and for the shooter to be caught and prosecuted without further loss,” he continued. “I hope we can all come together in prayer and action to address rampant crime and mental heath [sic] issues to make sure these horrific tragedies don’t happen again.”
Police said Monday’s shooting occurred about 10 minutes into Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade. The shooter had not been caught or identified. He has been described as a white man, who is approximately 18- to 20-year-old with long black hair, last seen wearing a white or blue shirt.
Bailey, a self-described “pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment” candidate won last Tuesday’s GOP primary. He will face incumbent Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker this November. Pritzker is expected to win reelection.
