The man accused of killing seven people at an Independence Day parade has confessed to police that he fired a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin area, where he contemplated shooting an event there. authorities said. Wednesday.
The gunman returned to Illinois, where he was later arrested, after deciding he was not prepared to carry out a shooting in Wisconsin, Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, said at a news conference. after a bond hearing.
An Illinois judge ordered the suspect held without bond.
Read more:
After the 4th of July shooting, Highland Park residents say it might be time to leave the US.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon said in court that the gunman “looked down, took aim” and fired at people across the street, killing seven and wounding more than two dozen. He left the 83 bullet casings and three ammunition magazines on the roof.
The parade shooting left another American community, this time a thriving one in Highland Park, home to some 30,000 people near the Lake Michigan shoreline, reeling. Hundreds of protesters, parents and children fled in panic.
Some of the injured remain in critical condition, Covelli said, and the death toll could still rise.
Questions were also raised about how the suspect could have circumvented Illinois’ relatively strict gun laws to legally purchase five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities calling his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide.
Police went to the home following a call from a family member who said Robert E. Crimo III was threatening to “kill everyone” there. Covelli said police seized 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any weapons at the time, in September 2019.
In April 2019, police also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said.
Crimo legally purchased the rifle used in the attack in Illinois last year, Covelli said. In all, police said, he bought five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his father’s home.
The revelation about his gun purchases is just the latest example of young men who were able to obtain weapons and carry out massacres in recent months despite glaring warning signs about their mental health and proclivity for violence.
READ MORE: Highland Park shooting: Grandfather, ‘tireless’ synagogue teacher among victims
The Illinois State Police, which issues gun owners’ licenses, said Crimo applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19 years old. His father sponsored his application.
At the time, “there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger” and deny the request, state police said in a statement.
Investigators who questioned the suspect and reviewed his social media posts did not determine a motive or find any indication that he targeted victims based on race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said.
At the Fourth of July parade, the gunshots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of revelers fled in terror. 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.
David Shapiro, 47, said the gunshots quickly turned the parade into “chaos.”
“People didn’t immediately know where the shots were coming from, if the gunman was in front of you or behind you chasing you,” he said Tuesday as he retrieved a stroller and lawn chairs.
The shooting occurred at a location on the parade route where many residents had posted prime vantage points earlier in the day.
Among them was Nicolás Toledo, who was visiting family in Illinois from Mexico, and Jacki Sundheim, a lifelong congregation member and staff member of the nearby North Shore Israel Congregation.
Nine people, ages 14 to 70, remained hospitalized Tuesday, hospital officials said.
READ MORE: Highland Park shooting: Suspect charged with 7 counts of first-degree murder
The 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 celebrate its founding and the ties that still hold it together.
The gunman initially evaded capture by dressing as a woman and blending in with the fleeing crowd, Covelli said.
A police officer stopped Crimo, 21, north of the scene of the shooting several hours after police released his photo and warned he was likely armed and dangerous, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said. .
In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburb’s stance. The legal fight ended at the door of the US Supreme Court in 2015 when justices refused to hear the case and allowed the suburb’s restrictions to remain in place.
Under Illinois law, people convicted of felonies, addicted to narcotics, or those deemed capable of harming themselves or others may be denied the purchase of firearms. That last provision could have prevented a suicidal Crimo from obtaining a weapon.
But under the law, to whom that provision applies must be decided by “a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority.”
The state has a so-called red flag law designed to stop dangerous people before they kill, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or police to ask a judge to order weapons seized.
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.
Federal agents were reviewing Crimo’s online profiles, and a preliminary examination of his Internet history indicated that he had investigated mass murders and downloaded multiple photos depicting violent acts, including a beheading, a law enforcement official said.
The official was unable to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Shapiro, the Highland Park resident who fled the parade with his family, said his 4-year-old son woke up screaming later that night.
“He’s too young to understand what happened,” Shapiro said. “But he knows something bad happened.”
© 2022 Associated Press