"He was saying 'mommy, daddy'": Couple who cared for orphaned toddler describe parade shooting aftermath
CBSN
Dana and Gregory Ring grabbed their three young children and desperately ran for their lives as gunfire erupted at the Highland Park, Illinois, Fourth of July parade on Monday. The couple told CBS News' Adriana Diaz that the mood at the parade went from joyful to chaotic in seconds.
"It was almost as if a light switch flipped and everyone just started running for cover," Dana Ring said.
In the chaos, the Rings said they found themselves caring for a toddler who was found wandering alone.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.