FATHER OF SHOOTING SUSPECT CHARGED
The father of an Illinois man charged with killing seven people in a mass shooting at a July 4 parade in a Chicago suburb has been charged with seven felony counts of reckless conduct, prosecutors announced Friday.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said Robert Crimo Jr. surrendered to police on Friday and will have a bond hearing today. Rinehart said the charges are based on Crimo sponsoring his then 19-yearold son’s application for a gun license in 2019.
“Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenagers should have a weapon,” Rinehart said. “In this case, the system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son. He knew what he knew and he signed the form anyway.”
Rinehart wouldn’t further discuss what led his office to file the charges this week. Authorities have previously said the accused shooter, Robert Crimo III, attempted suicide by machete in April 2019 and in September 2019 was accused by a family member of making threats to “kill everyone.“
Both those reports came months before Crimo Jr. sponsored his son’s application in December 2019.
Chicago-area attorney George M. Gomez said by phone Friday that he was representing Robert Crimo Jr. in the newly announced criminal case. He declined to answer questions but emailed a statement that described the charges as “baseless and unprecedented.”
Gomez said Crimo Jr. “continues to sympathize and feel terrible for the individuals and families who were injured and lost loved ones,“but the attorney called the charges “politically motivated and a distraction from the real change that needs to happen in this country.”
A grand jury in July indicted Robert Crimo III on 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing the seven people killed and dozens wounded in the attack in Highland Park.
Until Friday, Rinehart had refused to discuss whether the man’s parents could face charges connected to the killings.
Legal experts have said it’s rare for an accused shooter’s parent or guardian to face charges — in part because it’s difficult to prove such charges.