Police say they ran toward gunfire during the Highland Park parade but by the time they got there, the shooting had stopped

• Police say they ran towards the sound of gunfire at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
• As they reached the plaza where people were shot, police say the rooftop shooter stopped firing.
• Police recovered a rifle from the rooftop of a local business, but the shooter is still at large.

Illinois police said cops ran toward the sound of gunfire after a shooter opened fire at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, but by the time they arrived, the shooting had stopped.

When gunshots rang out at 10:14 a.m. —with the Fourth of July parade about three-quarters through — police ran towards the plaza where they heard the gunfire, according to Chris O'Neill, Highland Park Police commander.

"We immediately identified that people were down, that we had numerous people who were injured and shot," O'Neill said at a news conference at 2 p.m. CT.

O'Neill said cops set up an inner and outer perimeter around the scene.

By the time police arrived, the gunman had stopped, said Chris Covelli, a Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesperson.

"My understanding as of now is [police] ran for the gunfire. However, the suspect ceased firing right around that point when they got close," he said in the briefing.

Police officials said the gunman fired on the crowd from a nearby rooftop. They had not yet identified or located the shooter as of the 2 p.m. briefing.

"All indications was he was discrete and he was very difficult to see," Covelli said.

Police said they later found a rifle on the rooftop of a nearby business, though they declined to specify the type of rifle, only calling it "high-powered."

The FBI and several local police departments are conducting a search and investigation.

"It sounds like spectators were targeted," Covelli said. However, he added, "We don't know what [the gunman's] intentions are at this point."