4TH OF JULY ‘SHOOTER CONFESSES’
Gun massacre suspect in the dock
THE Fourth of July massacre suspect has admitted to police he carried out the shooting.
The details emerged as Robert Crimo appeared in court for the first time yesterday over Monday’s attack in which seven people were killed at an Independence Day parade in the US.
Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon told a judge that the 21-yearold rapper had made “a voluntary statement confessing to his actions”.
After he was denied bail, officials revealed Crimo had intended to carry out another mass shooting shortly after his first as he had bullets left over.
The killer was silent for most of the hearing and showed no reaction as the names of the seven victims were read out. Mr Dillon said Crimo admitted he took a position on the roof of a building overlooking the parade route and “looked down his sights and opened fire” using a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 assault rifle.
Police found 83 shell casings on the roof, Mr Dillon added.
After the bloodbath in Highland Park, Illinois, Crimo contemplated a second shooting as he had 60 rounds left, the court heard. He drove to Wisconsin but decided against it and returned to Illinois where he was later arrested.
It also emerged how Crimo’s parents, Bob and Denise, helped him buy a gun just months after police confiscated his knife collection after he threatened to kill both of them.
Crimo was two years under the legal age to apply for the firearm owner’s identification (FOID) card needed to buy a weapon.
But, despite the threats, Crimo’s father sponsored him for a FOID card in December 2019 and it was approved a month later.
Officials have since said they approved the permit because there was “insufficient basis” to deem him dangerous, with the only record on his file a violation for tobacco possession.
Yesterday, Crimo’s parents released a statement saying: “We are all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and this is a terrible tragedy for many families, the victims, the parade-goers, the community, and our own.
“Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to everybody.”
Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to everybody
CRIMO’S PARENTS IN A STATEMENT ON KILLINGS