(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Highland Park community came together for remembrance and a parade two years after a mass shooting.
Residents gathered at Highland Park's Edgewood Middle School to remember the seven people killed two years ago at the city's Fourth of July parade.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said the holiday is always going to be a day of mixed emotion.
“We come forth today hoping that we as a community can remember and honor the lives lost."
The scaled back parade was held for the first time since the shooting and followed a different route out of respect for survivors.
“We have an obligation to this community's children in particular in the aftermath of July 4th 2022, one of the third graders who came through City Hall asked me, ‘Do we ever get to celebrate the Fourth of July?’ And, I said, ‘absolutely.’”
About 300 residents and officials attended the remembrance ceremony including U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth and former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot.
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