For many residents, the return of the Highland Park Independence Day parade on Thursday brought complicated feelings of mourning, reflection and a willingness to move forward after a mass shooting two years ago brought tragedy to the North Shore community. For 5-year-old Mina Popp, it was simply an opportunity to experience joy. “She’s just glowing right now after seeing it,” said her father, Tom Popp, 55, of Highland Park, who was present with his daughter at the 2022 event, when a with an assault rifle on parade-goers, killing seven and wounding 48 others.
“It’s really heartbreaking, but one of the things Mina asked was, ‘Will we ever be able to go to a parade again?’ So, we’ve been waiting for this.” Both the parade and a Remembrance Ceremony on Thursday sought to navigate those differences among the audience members — all in different stages of healing — while honoring the people who were killed or wounded. The common message at the day’s events was one of strength, resilience and unity.
“We come forth today hoping that we as a community can remember and honor the lives lost, the people who have been impacted forevermore through grievous injuries, and those who have been traumatized,” Mayor Nancy Rotering told reporters. “We’re trying to provide discreet opportunities for people to be heard, supported and recognized, and also to help this community not be defined by this tragedy, but to lean into the resiliency of the community, and to supp.