Violence has once again struck Lake County, Illinois.
Chaos erupted at the Six Flags Great America theme park tonight amid reports of an active shooter. According to a statement issued by Six Flags, the incident took place in the parking lot.
This evening, three people were injured outside the park when shots were fired from a single vehicle. The vehicle immediately drove away. Park security and on-site Gurnee Police Department Substation officers responded immediately. Law enforcement is investigating. — Six Flags PR
The unfortunate tradition of rapidly-spreading false information was quick to hit social media as panicked park guests made an attempt to flee. On the south side of the park, some even tried to break through fences to access the Washington Street exit.
Holy shit. This is the six flags in Gurnee Illinois. My friend just sent me another video of inside the park and people were climbing through barbed wire to escape pic.twitter.com/IrwL0diuju
— crippling icicle (@TurtlesInARace) August 15, 2022
Officers from multiple law enforcement agencies swarmed the park this evening as helicopters hovered overhead. Reports from those inside the park varied, with many families sheltering in place. Other videos show law enforcement headed into the park armed with shields and rifles.
Oh you know just another night in America where families at Six Flags in Gurnee, Illinois are hiding during a shooting pic.twitter.com/yjynHwZElj
— Wu-Tang Is For The Children (@WUTangKids) August 15, 2022
As some readers may know, The Rock Father Magazine is based in Lake County and Six Flags Great America has been featured on the site many times over the past 13 years.
Our family has, in the past, held season passes but decided to skip it this year, mainly due to violence. During a visit to the park last year, my wife and kids witnessed multiple individuals engaged in physical altercations at the attached Hurricane Harbor Waterpark.
With the world reopened following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’d discussed the possibility of further incidents of violence at the park, and unfortunately, that’s just what’s happened.
Tonight’s news comes roughly five weeks after the tragedy on July 4 in neighboring Highland Park.
