Highland Park shooting: Toddler found at scene orphaned in parade attack
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. – An online fundraiser has been launched on behalf of a 2-year-old Illinois boy orphaned during Monday’s mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July Parade, which left seven dead and at least 30 people wounded.
In a Tuesday afternoon news conference, Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek identified two of the seven victims fatally shot during the suburban Chicago rampage as 35-year-old Irina McCarthy and 37-year-old Kevin McCarthy of Highland Park.
According to The Hill, members of the area’s North Shore community have since launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds to support the McCarthys’ 2-year-old son, Aiden McCarthy. Photos of Aiden circulated widely on social media Monday in the immediate aftermath of the mass shooting, as community members sought to reunite him with family members from whom they believed he had been separated.
The suspected gunman, Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, was charged late Tuesday with seven counts of first-degree murder, and Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said “dozens” more charges are expected as the investigation unfolds.
Highland Park parade shooting: Suspect facing 7 murder counts; ‘dozens’ more charges expected
The organizer of Aiden’s GoFundMe page, Irina Colon, explained in the plea that the North Shore community “rallied to help a boy who we knew nothing about.”
“We took him to safety under tragic circumstances, came together to locate his grandparents, and prayed for the safety of his family,” she wrote, noting that the toddler has been “left in the unthinkable position, to grow up without his parents.”
By 7:45 p.m. EDT Tuesday, about three hours after it was launched, the page had raised nearly $884,000.
Friends of the McCarthys told The Associated Press that Irina McCarthy’s parents would care for the boy going forward.
Lauren Silva, a Highland Park resident, told The New York Times that in the aftermath of the shooting she and her boyfriend spotted a young boy, later identified as Aiden, pinned under a man later determined to be Kevin McCarthy. She said they cleaned him up and tried to comfort him before he was eventually reunited with his grandparents.
“Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows,” Colon wrote in the fundraising plea, which she launched with the family’s permission.
Highland Park parade shooting: What we know about the victims
In addition to the McCarthys, the Lake County Coroner’s Office identified four of the five other victims as Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park; Stephen Straus, 88, of Highland Park and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico.
People gather for a candelight vigil near the scene of a mass shooting the day before at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
A candelight vigil is held near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
People add strips of cloth with names and phrases memorializing the victims at a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, near the scene of a mass shooting during a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
People light candles during a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
People gather for a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
Hillary Heller, Shannon Rowe and Lucy Heller embrace near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
People arrive for a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
People add strips of cloth with names and phrases memorializing the victims at a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
Orange ribbons adorn the area of a candelight vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
A couple goes to lay flowers near the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
A couple goes to lay flowers near the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
A woman wipes tears after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Empty chairs are seen on the street after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Law enforcement search in a building after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A Law enforcement officer conducts a search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A woman looks outside from her home after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Law enforcement conduct a search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A man carries his belongings after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Students are escorted by police officers as they cross under police tape after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
American flags are pictured after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Empty chairs, a bicycle and a stroller are seen after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
Chairs and blankets are left abandoned after a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
A Fourth of July parade-goer runs for cover after gunfire was heard at the parade Monday morning, July 4, 2022, in a suburb of Chicago.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
Empty chairs sit along the sidewalk after parade-goers fled Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade after shots were fired, Monday, July 4, 2022 in Chicago.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
Terrified parade-goers fled Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade after shots were fired, leaving behind their belongings as they sought safety, Monday, July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Ill.
