Google’s Independence Day celebrations took a disturbing turn on Monday when a fireworks graphic appeared over news coverage of a mass shooting that left six people dead.
The animation, which showed blue and red fireworks exploding and forming US flags, was intended to mark the country’s July 4 national holiday.
According to a video on social media, the graphic appeared on the results page for searches for ‘fourth of july’: the kind of Easter egg Google is known for rolling out on major holidays.
But as the day’s tragic news began to unfold, this normally fun animation became more and more inappropriate.
The unfortunate combination was spotted by Google users who quickly reposted the graphic on Twitter. User Sawbuck Wine shared a video of the animation with the caption, ‘God bless America.’
The shooting reportedly began a few minutes after the parade started at 10am, with news coverage of the attack appearing shortly after.
It’s not clear exactly when the social media clip was taken, but Metro.co.uk has approached Google for more details on the timeline of events and any steps the company took to take down or pause the graphic.
Initially mistaken for fireworks, the sound of gunfire quickly caused panic among the gathered crowd.
Illinois State Senator Julie Morrison said she was about a block away from the shooting.
‘We heard gunshots that I kind of thought it was fireworks, then all of a sudden this wave of people starts running back towards us screaming, crying, hysterical, carrying their kids,’ said Morrison.
Police initially said Monday’s tragedy appeared to be a ‘completely random’ attack.
They later arrested a 22-year-old man called Robert E Crimo III in connection to the shooting.
Hours after the Highland Park attack, two police officers were injured in a second shooting on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.
Local news outlets said the incident took place at around 10pm during an Independence Day concert. Both officers were taken to hospital in a stable condition.
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