'You can’t react, you’re just running for your life’: Motive for Highland Park mass shooting still unknown

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS 58) -- You can still see lawn chairs and other items left behind at the scene of the Highland Park Fourth of July shooting, a reminder of the horror that transpired here. 

This parade is a tradition for many Highland Park families -- a tradition that's been tainted. 

A couple in the direct line of fire shares with us what they experienced. 

"You can't react, you're just running for your life," said Dean Zelinsky. "You're a sitting duck, now you're a moving duck."

Zelinsky and his wife Suzi describe the terrifying moments of fleeing the massive shooting, saying bullets grazed them. 

"The bullets were literally spraying on each side of me and I thought, 'I'm going to get shot in the back,'" Zelinsky said. 

The couple was separated during the chaos. 

"I turned around and Suzi wasn't there, and I just thought the worst."

Suzi took cover against a bench with her dog, describing the scene as bloody. 

"I see a woman across the way who was deceased, her face looked like it had been shot."

A desperate father whose wife was shot asked Suzi to look after his daughter. 

"He went back and forth to take care of his wife," she said. 

Dean went back for his wife and they made it out safe. The young girl they protected was later picked up by her father, a moment the Zelinskys will never forget. 

"It can happen here, it can happen anywhere."

On Tuesday, Highland Park officials said the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Crimo, shot about 70 rounds, injuring over 30 people and killing seven. 

"By all indications, he was acting by himself," said Chief Deputy Chris Covelli. 

Deputy Covelli says Crimo planned this attack for weeks, disguising himself in women's clothing.

"Investigators do believe he did this to conceal his facial tattoos and his identity to help him during the escape with the other people who were fleeing from the chaos," said Covelli. 

Officials say a rifle found in Crimo's car and the one he used during the shooting were legally purchased. 

Dean Zelinsky says this event will make him think twice about attending public outings. 

"Street fairs, anything, like art fairs -- I think that's over for me."