17-year-old says he and his family 'ran for our lives' when shots rang out at the Highland Park parade

• Six people have been killed in a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
• 24 people have been hospitalized, authorities said.

Around 10 a.m. this morning, just minutes after the Fourth of July parade began in Highland Park, Illinois, gunshots rang out.

"My little cousins and I ran for our lives," Anand P., a 17-year-old who attended the parade said in a tweet on Monday.

Anand, his mother, and young cousins had been watching the parade for no more than 15 minutes when they heard gunshots in the Illinois suburb 25 miles north of Chicago, he told Insider. Anand requested his full last name not be used for his privacy and the sensitivity of his experience.

Six people have been killed and 24 have been hospitalized, authorities said. One witness said they heard 20-25 shots in "rapid succession," the Chicago Sun Times reported.

Immediately following the noise, Anand and his family ran away from the shots. They ended up on the top floor of a parking garage, the only safe place they could find at the time, he told Insider.

From the top of the garage, he took a video.

"The video I got after I was a little bit away was of a little kid begging the police for help," Anand explained in a Twitter comment. "He was alone with his dog."

He and his family then retreated home to take his young cousins to safety, he told Insider.

But after taking the kids home, he and his mother returned to the area to see if others needed help.

"We dropped off our little cousins and decided to see if there was anyone who needed a drive or water," he said.

While most people did not ask for help, they did hand out water to some patrons, he said.

"Everyone was very strong," he said, adding that "We are recovering slowly but we are fine."