FY24 Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance (EFLEA) Program 1

On July 4, 2022, a mass shooter attacked an Independence Day parade in the Highland Park, Illinois central business district. The attack resulted in seven people killed and 48 others wounded. Authorities apprehended the alleged offender more than eight hours after the shooting and charged him the next day with seven counts of first-degree murder. On July 27, the charges were upgraded to 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder, and 48 counts of aggravated battery.

Over 100 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies responded to the shooting. In addition to the local law enforcement from surrounding communities, Highland Park authorities collaborated with the FBI, Illinois State Police, and Chicago Police during the investigation and manhunt. After his arrest, the alleged shooter’s home in Highwood, a small suburb just north of Highland Park, was raided by FBI agents.

The extensive area of the search for the suspect necessitated the cooperation of a large number of local, state and federal partner agencies through mutual aid. However, Highland Park incurred substantial overtime costs for its own law enforcement personnel during the search for the suspect. While the alleged offender was taken into custody the same day as the incident, the crime scene was spread over several blocks of the central business district. This area was secured by Highland Park law enforcement over the course of the week following the incident to provide for the thorough collection of evidence and retrieval of personal property that was abandoned during the shooting.

The City of Highland Park has stated that it expects to expend over $4 million related to the mass shooting incident, all of which was unanticipated, with more than $2.6 million not covered by any grant identified to date. The purpose of the EFLEA funding will be to defray the law enforcement costs incurred by Highland Park for the immediate response to the mass shooting on July 4, 2022. Immediately following the apprehension of the shooting suspect, city administrators began tracking the extraordinary law enforcement expenditures required for the search for the suspect, investigation of the incident and the securing of the extensive crime scene. These costs have been submitted to ICJIA for review and have been ascertained to be directly related to the immediate law enforcement response to the incident.