Google’s Fourth of July tribute goes south as another mass shooting dominates the headlines.
Like most seasonal holidays or anniversaries, the tech company always installs very cool animated pyrotechnics to celebrate special days.
However, as the Highland Park, Illinois mass shooting broke the news, Google’s animated fireworks appeared on the search engine, looking almost like flying bullets in the wake of the Chicago massacre.
The unfortunate moment was captured by many, with people shocked by the graphics as one person wrote: “We live in a futuristic dystopian novel.”
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Another replied simply: “Holy s**t.”
A third person commented: “The nauseating, algorithmic truth.”
While another said: “It hasn't gone wrong, this is just the country we live in. Nothing about it has been right for a very long time.”
The jarring coincidence came after six people were shot dead and 30 were left injured during a July Fourth parade, as per ABC News.
Police confirmed that the gunman opened fire with a ‘high-powered rifle’ on a rooftop as the festivities took place, leading hundreds of party-goers to flee in sheer terror.
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Initially, many bystanders thought the sound of the gunshots was merely fireworks.
However, once they realised they were bullets, many left their belongings behind as chairs, coolers, bicycles, and strollers still remain at the scene.
Zoe Pawelczak told CNN that she immediately realised something was wrong, telling the outlet: "I grabbed my dad and started running. All of a sudden everyone behind us started running.
“I looked back probably 20 feet away from me. I saw a girl shot and killed.”
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Pawelczak hid behind a dumpster for an hour before police relocated her to a retail store and then escorted the woman to her car.
She added: "It looked like a battle zone, and it's disgusting. It's really disgusting.”
Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen revealed an officer pulled over the suspected man known as Robert E. Crimo III five miles north of where the shooting took place.
Following the tragedy, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued a statement expressing his grievances to victims and their families.
He wrote: “There are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbours of their hopes, their dreams, their futures.
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“There are no words I can offer to lift the pain of those they leave behind. Please know that our state grieves with you, that MK and I grieve with you."
Charisa Bossinakis