Aussie baseball star's remarkable comments on US mass shooting

Australian baseball star Liam Hendriks has commented on the shocking shooting in Chicago which has resulted in six people killed and more than 36 others injured.

One man has been arrested, alleged to have opened fire on Independence Day revellers with a high-powered rifle from a rooftop at a parade in the suburb of Highland Park.

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It is the latest in a string of mass shootings in the United States to have garnered widespread media attention, following the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas and a racially motivated shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

Hendriks, a closing pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who rose to All-Star prominence in previous seasons with the Oakland Athletics, said it was beyond time for action on guns when he spoke after his team's match against the Minnesota Twins.

The Aussie star is the latest high-profile athlete to speak up about mass shootings in the United States, after Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr delivered some memorable and emotive comments in the wake of the Uvalde shooting.

Hendriks said something needed to be done.

“Something need to change,”Hendriks said.

“Something needs to be done, something needs to happen because there’s too many people losing their lives.”

Hendriks expanded later on, pointing out that he had been required to take a driving test when he moved to America, but it would have been legal at any point for him to walk into a gun store and purchase a firearm.

He said the real tragedy was the overall effect continued mass shooting would have on the community, potentially leading people to fear going out to socialise or go to work for fear of a random shooting taking place.

"It's not only about the people who lose their loves and their loved ones, it's the tragedy that goes through the entire community when people are concerned about leaving the house, concerned about going to work," he said.

"Too many people are dying, it's no excuse to say I'm on this side or I'm on that side, something needs to be done."

Australian MLB pitcher Liam Hendriks weighs in on latest US mass shooting

Asked about his thoughts about gun culture in America as an overseas player, Hendriks was blunt in his response.

"It baffles me," he said.

"I had to take a driving test when I got over here, but I won't have to take a test if I want to get a gun. That's stupid.

"Whoever thought of that idea was an idiot."

Hendriks went on to explain the federal government's gun buyback program, which was introduced in response to the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

Police confirmed they captured 22-year-old Robert E. Crimo III, who was from the area, with charges expected to to be filed against him.

The shooting caused toddlers to abandon tricycles and parents to run for safety with their children, turning a civic display of patriotism into a scene of panicked mayhem.

"It sounded like fireworks going off," said retired doctor Richard Kaufman, who was standing across the street from where the gunman opened fire, adding he heard about 200 shots.

"It was pandemonium. A stampede. Babies were flying in the air. People were diving for cover," he said.

"People were covered in blood tripping over each other."

The 26 victims taken to Highland Park hospital ranged in age from eight to 85, said Brigham Temple, an emergency room doctor.

Police said the shooting took place from the rooftop of a business the gunman reached via an unsecured alley ladder attached to the building.

President Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill were "shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day".

In his statement, Biden referred to bipartisan gun-reform legislation he signed recently but said much more needed to be done and added: "I'm not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence".

With AAP

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