Police arrest suspect after gunman kills six at U.S. July 4 parade

Firing into the holiday crowd, the shooter triggered scenes of total chaos as panicked onlookers ran for their lives, leaving behind a parade route strewn with chairs, abandoned balloons and personal belongings

The police arrested a suspect on Monday after a mass shooting left six dead at a U.S. Independence Day parade in a wealthy Chicago suburb, casting a dark shadow over the country's most patriotic holiday.

Robert Crimo, 22, was identified as a "person of interest" and became the target of a massive manhunt across the town of Highland Park in Illinois, where a rooftop gunman with a high-powered rifle turned a family-focused July 4 parade celebration into a scene of death and trauma.

Firing into the holiday crowd, the shooter triggered scenes of total chaos as panicked onlookers ran for their lives, leaving behind a parade route strewn with chairs, abandoned balloons and personal belongings.

Emergency officials said around two dozen persons, including children, were treated for gunshot injuries, with some in critical condition.

After a brief car chase, Crimo was taken into custody "without incident," Highland Park police chief Lou Jogmen told reporters.

Earlier, the police had warned that he was armed and "very dangerous." A Chicago musician of the same age and with the same name goes by the stage moniker "Awake the Rapper" online.

The shooting is part of a wave of gun violence plaguing the United States, where approximately 40,000 deaths a year are caused by firearms, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.