HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. – In the chaotic aftermath of the attack at the 4th of July parade on Monday, Lauren Silva stumbled across a toddler is bleeding lying beneath a dying man. As her boyfriend and son frantically tried to give first aid, she hugged him and kept asking about his parents. Hours passed, rumors of a small child being found at the scene of the massacre.
On Tuesday, authorities identified the parents: Kevin McCarthy, 37, and his wife, Irina McCarthy, 35, two of the seven killed in another deadly shooting in the US. More than 30 people were also injured, including four members of a family.
Police said the victims, attacked by a gunman who shot from a roof, ranged from October people to eight-year-old children. All six people killed Monday were adults, said Deputy Sheriff Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities said a seventh person died on Tuesday but were not immediately identified.
Adrienne Rosenblatt, 71, said she immediately feared the worst when she saw a photo online on Monday of the unidentified toddler found by Ms Silva. He was Miss Rosenblatt’s neighbor, and she guided him through his fear of her little white dog, Lovie.
She informed the boy’s paternal grandparents, who brought the boy home from the police station. Irina Colon of Northbrook, Ill., a relative of the child’s mother, said in a fundraising appeal she posted on GoFundMe that the boy “was left in an unimaginable position; to grow up without his parents. “
“It’s sad,” said Miss Rosenblatt quietly.
Lake County coroner Jennifer Banek released the names of four other victims on Tuesday. “It is with a heavy heart,” she said, “I bring you the names of the victims of that tragedy.”
All but one were residents of Highland Park, a suburb north of Chicago, where the celebration is a community tradition. They can come from any of the Independence Day crowds in any town in the country:
A grandfather was sitting in a position of choice that his family had chosen for him. A 63-year-old woman who attends special events in her Jewish congregation. A dear uncle still goes to work every day even though he is over 80 years old. A mother and wife, just recently, have been thinking about where she would want her ashes scattered.
And a suburban couple took their toddler to a parade.
Here, based on interviews, is what else we know about the dead.
Katherine Goldstein, 64 years old
A mother of two daughters in her early 20s, Katherine Goldstein has been described by her husband, Craig Goldstein, as a longtime sports buff who is willing to explore a host of exotic locales without the need keep an eye on. “She didn’t complain, ‘Sorry.’ She is always with her on the trip,” said Dr. Goldstein, a hospital doctor, in an interview.
Dr. Goldstein says his wife didn’t work outside of their home after they got married in the late 1990s and she has dedicated herself to motherhood. She took her eldest daughter, Cassie, to the Highland Park Parade on the 4th so Cassie could reunite with her friends from high school. Ms. Goldstein loved playing games with her children, like the word game Bananagrams, her young daughter, Alana, recalls.
Dr. Goldstein said that his wife and her siblings had recently lost their mother and they discussed the arrangements they wanted for themselves after their own death. He recounts that Katherine, an avid birdwatcher, said she wanted to be cremated and have her remains scattered in the Montrose Beach area of Chicago, where there are a bird yard.
But the reflection on her own death is out of character, he said. “The amazing thing about Katie is that she never thought about her own death,” Dr. Goldstein said. “For me it was almost a concern. She never thought about it.”
Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78 years old
Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza doesn’t want to attend the Highland Park parade on July 4, but his disabilities require him to be with someone full-time. And the family wouldn’t skip the parade – even going so far as to reserve seats for a selection of viewing locations the night before.
Mr. Toledo-Zaragoza was sitting in his wheelchair along the parade route, between his son and a grandson, when bullets began to fly. Xochil Toledo, his granddaughter, said: “We realized that our grandfather had been hit by bullets. “We saw blood and everything splattered on us.”
Toledo-Zaragoza suffered three gunshot wounds, killing him. He moved back to Highland Park a few months ago from Mexico at the urging of family members. He was hit by a car while walking in Highland Park a few years ago while living with his family, and had a series of medical problems as a result of that accident.
“We brought him here to give him a better life,” Ms. Toledo said. “His sons wanted to take care of him and have more in his life, and then this tragedy happened.”
Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63 years old
A smile and a hug. Those are the assurances every time Jacquelyn Sundheim – known as “Jacki” – walks into Marlena Jayatilake’s spice shop in downtown Highland Park, Ill.
Ms Jayatilake said: “She was a beautiful person, a beautiful ray of light. “So it was definitely a dark day.”
Sundheim, a member of the Congregation for the North Bank of Israel in Glencoe, Ill., was among those killed in Highland Park, according to the synagogue, where friends say she coordinated events and did a little bit of everything else.
Janet Grable, a friend, said she went beyond her expectations when she planned to build the bar for both of her children and made special seating arrangements for her mother when she attended services while in town. town.
Stephen Straus, 88 years old
A father of two, grandfather of four and a financial advisor, 88, who still rides the train daily from his home in Highland Park to his office at a brokerage in Chicago, Stephen Straus “shouldn’t have been” must die this way,” his niece, Cynthia Straus, said in a phone interview.
Ms Straus said: “He is a respectable man who has worked all his life, taking care of his family and giving everyone the best he has. “He’s kind and gentle, has great intelligence and a good sense of humour.”
Mr. Straus’ two grandsons, Tobias Straus, 20, and Maxwell Straus, 18, said in an interview that they and their parents often gather with the Straus couple for dinner every Sunday night, including the night before the shooting. Tobias, who fondly recalled his grandfather’s sense of humour, said Mr Straus had a classic shape.
Tobias Straus says: “He ordered ‘pasta with two meatballs, keeping one meatball. After complimenting his grandfather’s watch, he added, the grandfather gave it to him “out of nowhere”.
“That was literally the night before.”
Cynthia Straus says her uncle and his community should have been better protected: “There’s a mentality that these things don’t touch us,” she said.
“And no one would think so right now – we are in an internal war in this country. This country is turning on its own. And innocent people are dying slowly.”
Report contributed by Amanda Holpuch, Michael Levenson, Eduardo Medina and John Yoon. Susan Campbell Beachy provide research.
