HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. –
The gunman who attacked an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago fired more than 70 rounds from an AR-15-style weapon that killed at least six people, then evaded initial capture by dressing as a woman and blending into the crowd. fleeing, police said Tuesday. .
Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference that the suspected shooter, who was arrested Monday night, used a high-powered rifle “similar to an AR.” -15″ to fire bullets from the top of a commercial building at a crowd that had gathered for a parade in Highland Park, a tight-knit community on the shores of Lake Michigan that has long attracted the wealthy and sometimes to the famous More than 30 people were also injured.
Investigators who questioned the suspect and reviewed his social media posts did not determine a motive for the attack, Covelli said.
They also haven’t found any indication that the shooter targeted someone because of race, religion, or other protected status.
Authorities have not filed criminal charges.
Earlier in the day, FBI agents looked inside trash cans and under picnic blankets as they searched for more evidence at the site where the shooter opened fire.
The gunshots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of terrified revelers fled in terror in Highland Park, a tight-knit community on the shores of Lake Michigan that has long attracted the rich and sometimes famous.
A day later, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked parade-goers remained within a wide police perimeter. Outside the police tape, some neighbors came to collect blankets and chairs that had been abandoned.
The July 4 shooting was just the latest to break the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores, and now community parades have become killing fields in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to find reasons to celebrate its founding and the ties that still hold it together.
“It definitely hits a lot harder when it’s not only your hometown, but it’s right in front of you,” resident Ron Tuazon said as he and a friend returned to the parade route Monday night to retrieve chairs, blankets and a children’s bicycle that he and his family abandoned when the shooting began.
“It’s commonplace now,” Tuazon said. “We don’t blink anymore. Until the laws change, it will be more of the same.”
The shooting occurred at a location on the parade route where many residents had staked out vantage points earlier in the day for the annual celebration.
Among them was Nicolás Toledo, who was visiting his family in Illinois from Mexico. He was shot and died at the scene, his granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, told the Chicago Sun-Times. Also dead was Jacki Sundheim, a longtime congregation member and “beloved” staff member of nearby North Shore Congregation Israel, which announced her death on her website.
Dozens of bullets fired sent hundreds of parade goers, some visibly bloodied, to flee. They left a trail of abandoned items that showed daily life suddenly and violently interrupted: a box of chocolate chip cookies spilled on the lawn; a Chicago Cubs kid’s cap; baby strollers, some with American flags.
“There is no safe place,” said Barbara Harte, 73, of Highland Park, who had stayed away from the parade fearing a mass shooting but then ventured out of her home.
Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said an officer stopped Robert E. Crimo III about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of the scene of the shooting, several hours after police released the photo of the man. and noted that he was probably armed and dangerous.
Authorities initially said Crimo, whose father once ran for mayor of Highland Park, was 22, but an FBI bulletin and Crimo’s social media said he was 21.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said all five people killed in the parade were adults, but she had no information on the sixth.
Police have not released details about the victims, but Toledo’s granddaughter told the Sun-Times that Toledo had spent most of her life in Morelos, Mexico. Xochil Toledo said she remembers looking at his grandfather, who was in his 70s, when a gang walked past them.
“I was so happy,” he said. “Happy to live in the moment.”
Xochil Toledo said that her father tried to protect her grandfather and was shot in the arm; His boyfriend was also shot in the back and someone took him to a nearby hospital because they weren’t sure there would be enough ambulances for all the victims.
Roberto Velasco, Mexico’s director of North American affairs, said on Twitter that two Mexicans were also injured.
Sundheim had spent decades on the staff of North Shore Congregation Israel, at first teaching in the congregation’s preschool and later serving as Events and B’nei Mitzvah Coordinator, “all of this with tireless dedication,” the congregation said in its statement announcing his death. .
“Jacki’s work, kindness and warmth touched us all,” the statement said.
The NorthShore University Health Center received 26 patients after the attack. All but one had gunshot wounds, said Dr. Brigham Temple, medical director of emergency preparedness. Their ages ranged from 8 to 85, and Temple estimated that four or five were children.
Since the beginning of the year, there have been 15 shootings that have killed four or more people, including the one in Highland Park, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Murder Database.
Highland Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill said the gunman apparently fired from a roof where it was “very difficult to see.” He said the rifle was recovered at the scene. Police also found a ladder attached to the building.
Covelli said Crimo legally purchased the gun in Illinois last year.
Crimo, who goes by Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting dozens of videos and songs, some sinister and violent, to social media.
In an animated video taken down by YouTube, Crimo raps about armies “walking in the dark” as a drawing appears of a man pointing a rifle, a body on the ground, and another figure with hands up in the distance.
Crimo’s father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Highland Park in 2019, calling himself “a person for the people.”
The community of about 30,000 on Chicago’s north shore has mansions and sprawling lakeside estates and was once home to NBA legend Michael Jordan.
Gina Troiani and her 5-year-old son were lined up with her kindergarten class ready to walk down the parade route when she heard a loud sound that she thought was fireworks, until she heard people yelling about a shooter.
“We started running in the opposite direction,” he told The Associated Press. “There were people who got separated from their families, looking for them. Others just left their cars, grabbed their children and started running.”
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Foody contributed from Chicago. Associated Press writers Martha Irvine and Mike Householder in Highland Park; Mike Balsamo and Bernard Condon in New York; David Koenig in Dallas; Jeff Martin in Woodstock, Ga.; Fabiola Sánchez in Monterrey, Mexico; and Jim Mustian in New Orleans contributed reporting.
