Six Flags Great America amusement park saw heightened police presence on Sunday after reports of a shooting at the Gurnee, Illinois location, which left three people injured. Authorities have said there is no longer an active shooter situation and two of the injured people are getting treatment while the other has refused. There have been no serious injuries in the shootout which reportedly took place in the parking lot of one of North America’s most popular amusement parks. 

Gurnee is a village in Lake County, Illinois, whose population is 30,706 as per the 2020 census. It borders Waukegan city and is a popular tourist attraction in the Chicago metropolitan area with the Six Flags amusement park and Gurnee Mills pulling the larger part of the crowd. Gurnee sees 26 million visitors annually. 

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It is located on the banks of the Des Plaines river, and Interstate 94 splits the village into the east and west sides, with the former being the older part and the latter being the newer. 

Six Flags Great America, then called Marriott’s Great America, was announced to be built near I-94 on January 29, 1973. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 14, 1974. The park was opened to the public on May 29, 1976, coinciding with the Bicentennial. It opened with six themed areas and eight years later, the amusement park was sold to Six Flags, who currently own and operate it. The amusement park is currently among the largest employers in the area.

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While Gurnee is safer than 17% of cities in the US, many commenting on the shooting at Six Flags noted that there is violence in the neighbourhood. In November 2021, a man being shot outside the Gurnee Mills shopping mall, in the middle of the day, made it to the news. The 26-year-old died as a result of the injuries.