Rachel Brosnahan & Other Famous Highland Park Natives Address Shooting

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — The Highland Park community is reeling in the aftermath of the Fourth of July parade massacre that killed seven Monday in the Chicago suburb. Among the city’s community members are several well-known actors and performers who hail from the area and took to Twitter to share their grief.

“I grew up in Highland Park and this parade is a highlight of the year for so many families,” wrote Rachel Brosnahan, who stars in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” on Prime Video as the titular Mrs. Maisel.

“I’m sick to my stomach every time news like this comes out, but I don’t wish the pit in your stomach as you call your family and friends to make sure everyone is okay on anyone. No words.”

Brosnahan also shared a link, inviting her followers to donate to the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund.

“This is my home town,” wrote Brett Gelman, who plays Murray Bauman on the Netflix hit show “Stranger Things.”

“This is 5 minutes from where I grew up. I am at a loss for words. Unfortunately I am far from surprised. Shootings are the present day norm.”

Authorities arrested Robert Crimo III, 21, of Highwood, after an hourslong manhunt following the shooting, which wounded dozens when the gunman fired about 30 shots from a roof along the parade route, according to officials and video from the incident.

READ MORE:

• Names Of Highland Park Shooting Victims Released As Community Mourns
  
• Bobby Crimo Previously Threatened Suicide, 'To Kill Everyone': Police
  
• Vigils Set For Victims Of Highland Park July 4 Parade Mass Shooting
  
• Kamala Harris Visits Highland Park After July 4 Parade Shooting

Voice actress and Highland Park native Lauren Tom, who also played Julie on “Friends,” said she was “devastated and heartbroken.”

“I grew up in Highland Park, Il. and as a child and teenager, I went to that parade each year,” she wrote. “My heart is with everyone in HP right now. Thank God my relatives are all ok and keeping their doors locked.”

Josh Server, who was on “All That,” among other Nickelodeon hits, attended junior high and high school in Highland Park.

“My heart is broken for this community,” he wrote. “This country has a sickness. I’m sick.”

“Thirtysomething” star Ken Olin also grew up in Highland Park.

“I’ve always wished that every child in the world could have a childhood as idyllic as mine was growing up in Highland Park, Il.,” he wrote. “I was so incredibly fortunate. And today I’m shattered because even in Highland Park children aren’t safe from America’s gun disease.”

Olin criticized the National Rifle Association and called for a ban on assault weapons.

“I went to this parade every year as a little boy,” he wrote. “My heart breaks for all the children in our country who will grow up afraid of celebrating with a mass of happy people.”

Both Olin and fellow Highland Park native singer-songwriter Richard Marx shared the gofundme page for 2-year-old Aiden McCarthy, whose parents died in the shooting. Marx also noted contrasts between the arrest of Crimo, who is white, and police interactions with Black men that have turned fatal, such as the deaths of George Floyd and Jayland Walker.

“I grew up in Highland Park,” Marx wrote. “I’m actively reaching out to check on the welfare of people I still know there. My heart is always broken by these constant mass shootings no matter where they occur but today I’m extra heartbroken. And extra angry at the senselessness.”