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Victims of the Highland Park shooting include a 78-year-old grandfather and both parents of a toddler, with the injured as young as 8

Yeji Jesse Lee   

Victims of the Highland Park shooting include a 78-year-old grandfather and both parents of a toddler, with the injured as young as 8
LifeInternational4 min read
  • Seven people were killed in a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
  • Dozens more were injured and transported to the hospital, some with critical injuries.

Seven people died and dozens more were injured in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on Monday.

People at the parade described initially mistaking the gunfire for fireworks, and then running for safety.

In the aftermath of the Monday shooting, authorities said seven people had been killed.

Five adults were pronounced dead at the scene Monday and a sixth victim died in the hospital after being taken from the scene.

On Tuesday, Lake County Sheriff's Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli confirmed to Insider that a seventh victim had died in the shooting.

Authorities released the names and ages of six of the seven victims during a Tuesday press conference.

  • Irina McCarthy, 35, of Highland Park
  • Kevin McCarthy, 37, of Highland Park
  • Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park
  • Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park
  • Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico
  • Stephen Straus, 88, of Highland Park
  • Edward Uvaldo, 69, of Waukegan

Here is what we know so far about those who were killed.

Nicholas Toledo-Zaragoza

Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza had been in Illinois to visit his family, his family told the Chicago Sun Times.

His granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, told the Sun-Times that Nicolas had not been sure if he wanted to go the parade, but his family did not want to leave him alone. The New York Times reported that he had disabilities which prevented him from being left alone.

Xochil told the Sun-Times that during the parade "He was so happy. Happy to be living in the moment."

Then bullets started to hit him, she said.

She told The Times: "We realized our grandfather was hit. We saw blood and everything splattered onto us."

"He was the one who saved all of our lives. It would have gone to me, my boyfriend or my cousins," she told the Sun Times.

Toledo-Zaragoza was 78, his son Alejo Toledo told The New York Post.

"We are all feeling pretty numb. We're all pretty broken inside," his granddaughter told CBS Chicago.

The family was supposed to have a cookout after the parade, but are instead in shock, the Sun-Times reported. Xochil said her father and boyfriend were also shot, and that her father was released but her boyfriend was still in hospital as of Monday.

Jacki Sundheim

Also killed in the shooting was Jacki Sundheim, a local synagogue worker.

The North Shore Congregation Israel said in a statement that she was a "beloved" member of its staff and a longtime member of its community.

"There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jacki's death and sympathy for her family and loved ones," the statement said.

She is survived by her husband Bruce and daughter Leah, The Times of Israel reported, citing the synagogue.

Irina and Kevin McCarthy

Irina and Kevin McCarthy were parents to a young boy who was also present at the Fourth of July parade, according to a GoFundMe set up for the slain couple.

Their 2-year-old son Aiden became separated from his parents amid the shooting that claimed Irina and Kevin's lives. A woman who came across Aiden during the chaos took him to the police station to be reunited with his family, CBS News reported.

But his parents never came.

The community eventually reunited Aiden with his grandparents, according to the online fundraiser. The page said Aiden will be raised by his grandparents Misha and Nina Levberg.

"He will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan," the fundraiser's organizer, Irina Colon wrote.

The GoFundMe raised $2,247,250 by Wednesday afternoon.

Edward Uvaldo

Edward Uvaldo was identified by the Cook County medical examiner as the seventh shooting victim on Wednesday, CBS News reported. Uvaldo had suffered critical injuries and was taken to Evanston Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead at 7:47 a.m., the outlet reported.

In a GoFundMe fundraiser, Uvaldo's family said he had been shot in the head and the arm, and his wife, Maria, had also been injured by "fragments in the head."

"My grandpa is a kind, loving, and funny man who did not deserve this," Nivia Guzman, the fundraiser's organizer, said on Tuesday.

"We just received news that there is nothing left to do for our papi," Guzman wrote later in an update. "All further donations will go towards assisting my grandmas needs when the time comes."

8-year-old among the injured

An additional 25 people were brought to the hospital with gunshot wounds, Brigham Temple, the medical director of emergency preparedness at NorthShore University HealthSystem, told a Monday news conference. Some of them have been discharged.

Those patients' ages ranged from eight to 85 years old, and included four to five children, Temple said.

The injuries of the hospitalized patients varied, Temple said: "Some of them were minor. Some of them were much more severe and some of those patients were in critical condition when they did arrive here to the hospital," Temple said.

Nineteen patients had been treated and discharged as of 4:30 p.m. local time Monday.

A GoFundMe page for victims of the shooting has raised $317,862 as of Wednesday afternoon. Another, for Toledo, has raised more than $123,000. A third page, organized by VictimsFirst, has raised $32,372 toward a goal of $320,000.

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