Highland Park parade shooting suspect charged with 7 counts of murder: Wednesday, July 6

A prosecutor in suburban Chicago said Tuesday that the gunman accused of attacking an Independence Day parade has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart promised that dozens more charges would be sought. He added that the suspect, if convicted of murder, would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.The gunman who attacked an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, killing at least seven people, legally bought two high-powered rifles and three other weapons despite authorities being called to his home twice since 2019 after he threatened suicide and violence, police said Tuesday.A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force told a news conference that the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a high-powered rifle “similar to an AR-15" to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore.READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/police-highland-park-parade-gunman-fired-more-than-70-rounds-wore-disguise/507-92739728-ca10-4435-8b89-ca8887105b47 There could be an escape from traffic in a popular Rock Hill area. A brand-new road extension behind the Galleria Mall is now open, connecting Galleria Boulevard to Red River Road. County leaders said the newly paved 2,000-foot addition will help ease congestion on Dave Lyle Blvd.Less than a week since its debut, residents are already seeing a difference.“I can actually take that backroad to get to work a lot quicker," Rock Hill resident Phillip Ingram said. "It cuts out a lot of traffic lights for those mornings that I wake up and I’m running a little bit late."The $7 million project is paid for by the Pennies for Progress tax. Patrick Hamilton, who oversees the program, said the road has been planned since the first section of Galleria Boulevard was built years ago, and it is designed with future development in mind.“We don’t want somebody to come in and tear up the road in a few years to add in driveways or turn lanes," Hamilton said. "Those features are already there so whenever it does get built out, the road will not be torn back up to make those improvements." https://www.wcnc.com/article/traffic/new-road-helps-rock-hill-traffic/275-d2b2c263-28fd-469f-a622-87c385a74c37Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!