world, i'm wolf blitzer and this is "the situation room" special report. as we cover the breaking news from illinois, cnn's coverage of the fourth in america is delayed until later this hour. let's go straight to highland park, illinois, the chicago suburb that's grief-stricken and terrorized right now as the mass shooting suspect is still on the loose. cnn is there for us, adrian, police are looking for a 22-year-old man named robert e. crimo the third. tell us about what they know. >> reporter: wolf, investigators believe that 22-year-old who they think is responsible for the shooting that happened here in highland park is driving. he's in a vehicle, they say, with illinois plates, described as a silver hyundai. and the license plate, again dm 8 80653. meanwhile, investigators had their teams out aggressively trying to apprehend this suspect. they consider him armed and dangerous. if you think you see this 22-year-old man, police say do not approach him. instead, call 911. this, after that morning parade. the parade route turned into a crime scene. at least six people lost their lives. five of them, along this parade route. i spok that heartache. listen in. >> i saw people around me and a lot of people hiding. a man went at one point to find his son and asked me to watch his kids, so we were all hiding behind a dumpster together, and really little kids. like what's going on? just fireworks, people get silly with fireworks. just horrible, while the guy was out looking for his son, ended up hiding in a dumpster. the dad ended up putting his children in the dumpster to hide and stay safe. and it was probably 30 of us just hiding in this little corner behind the dumpster. >> she describes there, a father finding safety for his child, or his children in a dumpster. meanwhile, if you look behind me, you'll notice there are still lawn chairs along this stretch of the parade route. we're on central which is in the heart of downtown highland park, but again, at this hour, for those of you who have been watching and listening, the 22-year-old person of interest is still on the loose. wolf. >> let's show the picture once again if we have that picture of robert e. crimo iii. this is the individual being described as a person of interest, the suspect, they believe, killed the six wonderful people earlier today, at the 4th of july parade in highland park, illinois. they also consider him armed and dangerous so be very, very careful if you spot this individual. as said, call 911 or you can call the fbi directly. 1800 call fbi. or go to the website, www.fbi.gov/highlandpark. if you spot this individual or have information on robert e. crimo iii, once again, share that information as quickly as possible. he's considered to be armed and dangerous. let's get more on all the breaking news, adrian, we'll get back to you, joining us, senior law enforcement analyst and former deputy director andrew mckay, former cia counter tear terrorism official, and former fbi supervising special agent, peter lacado, thank you very much for joining us. how can officials use the information they have right now to actually locate, to track down the suspect? >> well, wolf, that's predominantly happening in two separate channels. what we're seeing, particularly with the release of the photograph is an effort to employ the public's help locating mr. crimo or generating any information they have about him, his associates, places he hangs out, where his car might have been seen, that kind of thing. that's the kind of crowdsourcing identification angle of it. on the other side, covertly, bureau is interviewing associates, family members, people worked with or went to school with, identifying places he might go, likely setting up surveillance on his locations, looking at his social media footprint, every account he might have had, whether it's instagram, you know, snapchat, youtube, twitter, they're looking at his phone number and any records they can pull from that phone in terms of chat melons and phone calls to friends, all the effort of trying to establish his network of associates, people trying to assist him in running from law enform or who have information on where he might be so it's a two-sided investigation right now, one half very public, the other very covert. >> phil, i know you were detailed in the fbi at one point in your career. take us behind the scenes right now of what this investigation is like. what information do authorities need most right now? >> they've got it and that is the identity. you take one piece of it that andrew was talking about, the state police, taking any call of someone who identifies what we think is the car, let's go into the covert piece, the private piece, secret piece that andrew was talking about. if you're looking at this analytically, as you talk to family members, a lot of data is cropping up u names of any apartment, associate, name of any former girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, for example, also looking at technical information. for example, phone data that might indicate whether he's use said ed a phone in the last 24 hours. might indicate where he is now, did he talk to somebody about where he wants to go? that indicates the next step of the investigation, was he talking to or texting people that might have been aware of this. there's a lot of data the feds have now, now that they have identified him, indicating to them where he is or might be and whether there's a network around him, wolf. >> so peter, we now have you this photo of the suspect released. how important will it be in enlisting the public's help? over the years, covering these kinds of stories, i've often been told by law enforcement including the fbi it's so important if you spot this individual, immediately call 911 or let the fbi or local law enforcement know, it is so, so critical. >> it's absolutely 100% critical, wolf. let's go back to just some recent incidents. the new york city subway attack in brooklyn not that long ago, the perpetrator was, his picture, or the alleged picture, cctv was released to the new york city metropolitan area through the news networks and was found wandering the streets of new york citys, mcdonald's, a private citizen called because they recognized him so it's very key that law enforcement is imploring the help of the civilian sector in order to try to identify him but the key thing s it can't be emphasized enough, he is armed and dangerous. no one should go out of their way in order to try to interdict him, just do what law enforcement has been saying, what you've been saying -- just call the numbers. call 911, call that 1-8 hundred fbi number and if there's anyone else associated with him in that vehicle. >> these at this points from the public, andrew mccabe are so the, so potentially important. but go a little more in-depth. what's most useful in a case like this, in getting information from the public who may have information about the suspect? >> so, wolf, it's, first of all, let's just level set. it is very, very hard to go on the run as a wanted subject in this country, in this day and age with the perfusion of video surveillance everywhere, and people who have access to news feeds and social media feeds this their hands. you need a lot of money, you need a lot of support. there's no indication this guy has either of that. so they will find this individual, the challenge is what is his next plan? they already know he attended one, you know, large public gathering for the purpose of slaughtering people. there are numerous other large public gatherings tonight in the greater chicago land area, so there is really a race to find him before he presents a danger at one of those other locations. so the more information they can get in front of the more public eyeballs, the better off we are. we need as many people as possible understanding what he looks like, what he drives, which is a silver colored honda fit automobile, knowing his name, understanding like he's got some very distinctive tattoos on his neck. he is somebody who is going to have a hard time really blending in with the crowd so we need as many people aware of that and ready to make that call to 1-800 call fbi. >> so important, why we keep showing this picture, if anyone is spotting this individual, be very careful, he's armed and dangerous according to local law enf enfor enforcement on the scene, but also critical you share that information. call 911 or call 1-800 callfbi or go to www.fbi.gov/highlandpark. stand by, we'll get to all of you just ahead, new details coming into the "the situation room" on this mass shooting. massive handhunt under way. the illinois governor saying, quote, this murder will be brought to justice. we'll have the latest on the search for the shooter, that's next, you're in "the situation room." lemons. lemons, lemons, lemons. look how nice they are. the moment you become an expedia member, you can instantly start saving on your travels. so you can go and see all those, lovely, lemony, lemons. ♪ and never wonder if you got a good deal. because you did. ♪ what if i sleep hot? 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(burke) we should. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ once again, as we cover the breaking news from illinois, cnn's coverage of the fourth in america is delayed until later this hour, stand by for that. in a critical new development, police now identified 22-year-old robert e. crimo, c-r-i-m-o the third as a person of interest in the shooting of highland park illinois, shooting that killed six wonderful people and injured dozens more. let's bring in cnn senior justice correspondent, evan perez, evan, federal investigators are on the case, working with local law enforcement. tell us what's going on. >> reporter: well, wolf, this hour, we expect that the fbi and the local authorities are going to be doing searches, now that we know, that they've already identified who they're looking for. they're knogoing to try to talk members of the family, see if there's any electronics that could provide a clue of where he might be headed, where he planned to go after carrying out the shooting and also if there's anything to explain what happened here today. the fbi is obviously already put out this one location on their website for people to upload media, you know, pictures, video, anything from people who were at the parade today who may have a little bit of information that could help with the search, could help explain what happened there. you see the fbi website already there, fbi.gov/highlandpark, wolf, and we know the fbi along with marshal service, homeland security department, atf, are here trying to help the local authorities and state police trying to find this shooter. one of the things the atf is doing is trying to trace the firearm, long gun that appears was used from that rooftop shooting down at those victims on the parade route. the atf is going to be able to determine when that firearm was purchased, whether it was purchased by this gunman or by someone else, and then try to figure out, you know, how it came into his possession. again, these are critical pieces of information for the investigators going forward. so, you know, the idea being that when this person is caught, if he is caught alive, that he can be brought to court and put on trial for these crimes. at this stage, wolf, we know the fbi is, again, going to be helping with the state police and the highland park police to try to investigate this and, you know, the first thing would be to conduct searches in any locations that are associated with this shooter and that would be happening right now as we speak, wolf. >> all right, important information indeed. evan perez, thank you very much, when you get more information will let us know, of course. tragedy has struck on what is supposed to be a day of celebration here in the united states. now, six dead, dozens hurt after this gunman opens fire at a fourth of july parade. the man hunt for the shooter is on going as we speak. illinois state senator julie morrison was at the parade in highland park earlier today. she witnessed the horrors firsthand, joining us on the phone right now, senator, thank you so much for joining us. first of all, how are you doing in the aftermath of what you saw. >> i still am in disbelief because this actually happened in highland park, in my community. i can't get over that. >> awful to think about it. highland park a beautiful town outside chicago, i've been going there suince i was a little boy i got close relatives who live there, it has a special place in my heart and yours as well. tell us what you saw as the shooting unfolded. >> so i was in a convertible in the parade. my grand children, my adult grown kids, volunteers, my husband, all were walking alongside the car, passing out candy to the kids on the curb and we heard gunshots. i thought it was fireworks honestly. i had no idea that there would be a gun in downtown highland park. the next thing we saw were a couple women who came running back through the parade screaming, crying, saying there was a shooter and it still just didn't ring true with me. then, there was a wave of people, hundreds of people, moms carrying kids and dads and all people running, weaving between the cars, running back, away from the parade and then we knew it was real. >> was there any advance warning, and you're the senator that represents highland park, this district. was there any indication at all that there could possibly be a danger at this annual parade, 4th of july parade, in highland park? >> absolutely not. this is something everyone looks forward to and with the pandemic we've had to skip some parades. this is a time when the kids and the families all come out and they see their neighbors and friends and the kids collect candy and there's floats and bands and politicians and it's just a really nice morning in downtown highland park. no expectation this could have happened. >> yeah, none at all. that's heartbreaking to even think about it. do you worry, senator, that the community there is still potentially in danger as long as this suspect remains at large? >> absolutely. i will rest better tonight knowing that he has been apprehended and i know that law enforcement from around the state and the fbi and all of our local municipalities are all on the hunt for this guy. i am confident they're going to get him. >> yeah, me too. tell us a little bit more about highland park, what should our viewers in the u.s. and around the world, for that matter, know about highland park. >> highland park is a nice suburban community. got a walkable downtown. everybody knows each other. when people grow up in highland park and go away to college, a lot of times, they'll come back when it's time for them to raise their family. it's a very closely knit community. and i think that really strikes terror in everyone's heart today when innocent people were shot. as senator, i know that gun violence is an epidemic, but today it got personal. my family was exposed and could have been shot as easily as anybody else. and when it gets like that, we absolutely have to draw a line in the sand and start taking action and quit saying well, some other day, or some other bill. i'm done with that. we have got to step up. we've normalized gun violence. every week there's a mass shooting. you cover them, they're covered everywhere. this week, today, it's highland park. but i'm not going to rest until we take some kind of action and i believe the governor, who i spoke with a little bit ago is right there with me. >> and as you correctly point out, according to the gun violence archive and i'm looking at it now, so far, this year alone, 2022, so far this year, have been 309 mass shootings across the united states. 309 mass shootings across the united states. something clearly has to be done. senator julie morrison, thank you so much for joining us on this very, very difficult day. appreciate it very much. >> thank you, wolf. coming up, how president biden addressed this new mass shooting earlier today, less than two weeks after signic the first major piece of gun legislation in decades . stay with us, you're in "the situation room." ar insurance, so you only pay for what you n need. woahah! look out! 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(cheers guys!) as we cover the horrible breaking news out of illinois right now, cnn's coverage of the 4th in america delayed until later this hour. right now, police urgently searching for 22-year-old robert e. crimo iii, there's a picture, what they call a person of interest in this july 4th parade shooting that killed six wonderful people in highland park, illinois and wounded several, dozens others, at least two dozen others. let's bring back our analyst, andrew mccabe, what do you make of the fact the gunman apparently chose a rooftop perch there this shooting, does it tell you anything about the level of preparation that went into this mass murder? >> it certainly does, wolf, it indicates a high level of planning. this is something the individual thought out, likely surveilled these locations and chose the one in which he could most easily gain access to the roof. we've heard some reporting that the roof of the buildin