A mass shooting attack in the United States has left six people dead and about 24 others injured at a Fourth of July parade in Chicago, Illinois.  

On Monday afternoon, officials disclosed to the press that six people were killed and 24 were taken to hospital and a rifle was recovered from the scene.

“Our community was terrorised by an act of violence that has shaken us to our core. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims during this devastating time,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering told Al Jazeera.

Highland Park police said a search for the gunman, who they described as a man between the ages of 18 and 20, is underway. 

The police said the suspected shooter opened fire at the parade celebrating Independence Day, targeting victims at random from a nearby rooftop. 

This attack comes a week after U.S. legislators passed the first bipartisan legislation on guns in America and a month after the deadly shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York. 

The Bipartisan Gun Safety Bill passed in Congress with a vote of 65-33, mandates states to pass red flag laws and set up background checks for 18 to 21-year-olds, among other measures.