Parade shooting suspect charged with 7 counts of murder

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) — The man charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder for opening fire at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally bought five weapons, including two rifles, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, police said.

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart promised Tuesday that dozens more charges would be sought. He added that the suspect, if convicted of the murder charges, would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.

A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force told a news conference that the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a rifle to fire from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore.

Police said they were called to the suspect’s home in September 2019 after a family member called to say he was threatening “to kill everyone” there. Task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time.

The suspect legally purchased the rifle used in the attack in Illinois within the past year, Covelli said. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his father’s home.

Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said.

Illinois state police, who issue gun owners’ licenses, said that the gunman applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19. His father sponsored his application.

At the time “there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger” and deny the application, the state police said in a statement.

The day after the shooting, authorities reported the death of a seventh person. More than three dozen other people were wounded in the attack, which Covelli said the suspect had planned for several weeks.

Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive for the attack or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said.

Earlier in the day, FBI agents peeked into trash cans and under picnic blankets as they searched for more evidence at the site where the assailant opened fire. The shots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of revelers fled in terror.

David Shapiro, 47, said the spray of gunfire quickly turned the parade into “chaos.”

A police officer pulled over Robert E. Crimo III north of the shooting scene several hours after police released his photo and warned that he was likely armed and dangerous, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said.

Law enforcement officials gave his age as 21 or 22. His father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, ran for mayor in 2019.

After evading initial capture by dressing as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, Crimo drove to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, then returned to Illinois, Covelli said.

The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day.

Nine people, ranging from 14 to 70, remained hospitalized Tuesday, hospital officials said.

Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting on social media dozens videos and songs, some ominous and violent.

In one animated video since taken down by YouTube, Crimo raps about armies “walking in darkness” as a drawing appears of a man pointing a rifle, a body on the ground and another figure with hands up in the distance.