UPDATED 4:51 p.m.
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (Reuters) -The man accused of attacking a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb bought his rifle legally, fired more than 70 rounds from a roof and dressed in women’s clothing to blend into the fleeing crowd afterwards, local officials said on Tuesday.
The suspect, 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III, surrendered to police on Monday, hours after the attack in Highland Park, Illinois, that took seven lives and sent over three dozen other people to hospital with gunshot wounds and other injuries.
Police revised the confirmed casualty toll on Tuesday with the death of a seventh person who had been hospitalized after the attack.
Among the dead were Nicholas Toledo, a grandfather from Mexico in his 70s celebrating with his family among the flag-waving crowds at Monday’s parade, and Jacki Sundheim, a teacher at a nearby synagogue.
Officials told reporters the suspect had planned the attack for several weeks and fired into the crowd at random. Authorities were still considering what criminal charges to bring. It was not immediately clear if Crimo had a lawyer.
At a news briefing on Tuesday, authorities cited two previous encounters between Crimo and law enforcement – an April 2019 emergency-911 call reporting he had attempted suicide and another in September of that year regarding alleged threats he had directed a family members.
(Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien, Jonathan Allen, Tyler Clifford, Christopher Gallagher, Christopher Walljasper and Doina Chiacu, Editing by Alistair Bell and Howard Goller)
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UPDATED 3:41 p.m.
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (Reuters) -The man accused of attacking a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb bought his rifle legally, fired more than 70 rounds from a roof and dressed in women’s clothing to blend into the fleeing crowd afterwards, local officials said on Tuesday.
The suspect, 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III, surrendered to police on Monday, hours after the attack in Highland Park, Illinois, that left seven people dead more than 30 others wounded.
Police revised the confirmed casualty toll on Tuesday with the death of a seventh person who had been hospitalized after the attack.
Among the dead were Nicholas Toledo, a grandfather from Mexico in his 70s celebrating with his family among the flag-waving crowds at Monday’s parade, and Jacki Sundheim, a teacher at a nearby synagogue.
Officials told reporters the suspect had planned the attack for several weeks and fired into the crowd at random. Authorities were still considering what criminal charges to bring. It was not immediately clear if Crimo had a lawyer.
Crimo has distinctive facial tattoos, and wore women’s clothing on Monday in an apparent effort to mask his identity, Chris Covelli, a spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriff’s office, told reporters.
“He blended right in with everybody else as they were running around, almost as if he was an innocent spectator as well,” Covelli said. The suspect fled to his mother’s house nearby, and later borrowed his mother’s car.
Officials said they did not know the motive for the shooting in a neighborhood with a large Jewish population, but had no evidence of any anti-Semitic or racist basis. Investigators were reviewing videos he had made filled with violent imagery.
The suspect used a high-powered rifle for the attack, similar to an AR-15, which he dropped at the scene.
He had a similar rifle in his mother’s car, which he was driving when taken into custody by police, and owned other guns at his home, all of which were bought legally in Illinois, officials said.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said the community of 30,000 was still in shock.
“This tragedy should have never arrived at our doorsteps,” she told NBC News. “As a small town, everybody knows somebody who was affected by this directly and, of course, we are all still reeling.”
President Joe Biden ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff in mourning until sunset on Saturday.
The U.S. Supreme Court last month asserted a constitutional right to carry weapons in public in a ruling that made it easier for pro-gun groups to overturn modern gun regulations. It has since thrown out a lower court ruling upholding Maryland’s ban on assault weapons.
A recent string of deadly mass shootings, including an attack that left 19 school children and two teachers dead in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, just 10 days after 10 people were slain in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, has renewed U.S. debate about gun safety.
Congress last month passed its first major federal gun reform in three decades, providing federal funding to states that administer “red flag” laws intended to remove guns from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.
The law does not ban sales of assault-style rifles or high-capacity magazines but does take some steps on background checks by allowing access to information on significant crimes committed by juveniles.
21-YEAR-OLD SUSPECT
Rotering, the city’s mayor, said she knew the suspect when he was a little boy and a Cub Scout and she was a Cub Scout leader.
“What happened? How did somebody become this angry, this hateful?” she said. “Our nation needs to have a conversation about these weekly events involving the murder of dozens of people with legally obtained guns.”
The suspect’s father, Bob Crimo, ran Bob’s Pantry and Deli in Highland Park for at least 18 years, according to a Chicago Tribune business profile. Bob Crimo closed the deli in 2019 before he unsuccessfully ran against Rotering for mayor of Highland Park.
Online social media posts written by the suspect or his rapper alias, Awake The Rapper, often depicted violent images or messages.
One music video posted to YouTube under Awake The Rapper showed drawings of a stick figure holding a rifle in front of another figure spread on the ground.
(Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien, Jonathan Allen, Tyler Clifford, Christopher Gallagher, Christopher Walljasper and Doina Chiacu, Editing by Alistair Bell and Howard Goller)
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HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (Reuters) -The suspected shooter who attacked an Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb bought his gun legally, fired more than 70 rounds into the crowd from a roof and dressed in women’s clothing in order to blend into the crowd afterwards, local officials said on Tuesday.
The suspect, 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III, was taken into custody on Monday after surrendering to police, hours after the attack on the July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois in which six people were killed and more than 30 people were wounded.
Officials said at a news briefing that he had planned the attack for several weeks, and authorities were still considering what criminal charges to bring. It was not immediately clear if Crimo had a lawyer.
Officials said they did not know what the motive was for the shooting in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, but had no evidence that there was any anti-Semitic or racist basis.
The suspect used a high-powered rifle at the attack which he dropped at the scene before blending into the crowd and fleeing to his mother’s house, officials said. One reason he wore women’s clothing was to hide facial tattoos, police said.
He also had a similar rifle in his mother’s car, which he was driving when apprehended by police on Monday, and owned other guns at his home, all of which were bought legally, officials said.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said the community of 30,000 was still in shock from Monday’s attack.
“This tragedy should have never arrived at our doorsteps,” she told NBC News. “As a small town, everybody knows somebody who was effected by this directly and, of course, we are all still reeling.”
The U.S. Supreme Court said last month that there is a constitutional right to carry weapons in public in a ruling that also made it easier for pro-gun groups to overturn modern gun regulations. Since then, the court has thrown out a ruling by a lower federal court upholding Maryland’s ban on assault weapons.
Congress last month passed its first major federal gun reform in three decades, providing federal funding to states that administer “red flag” laws intended to remove guns from people deemed dangerous.
The law does not ban sales of assault-style rifles or high-capacity magazines but does take some steps on background checks by allowing access to information on significant crimes committed by juveniles.
On Monday, the streets of Highland Park had been decked out in red, white and blue as families watched the annual Independence Day parade. Children waved American flags as parents and grandparents relaxed in folding chairs.
As the parade began rolling through downtown, police said the shooter climbed to the roof of a business using a fire-escape ladder in an alley and then, without notice, opened fire with an assault rifle at the crowd below. He apparently shot into the crowd at random, police said.
21-YEAR-OLD SUSPECT
Rotering, the city’s mayor, said she knew the suspect when he was a little boy and a Cub Scout and she was a Cub Scout leader.
“What happened? How did somebody become this angry, this hateful?” she said.
Social media and other online posts written by accounts that appeared to be associated with either Crimo or his rapper alias, Awake The Rapper, often depicted violent images or messages.
One music video posted to YouTube under Awake The Rapper, for example, showed drawings of a stick figure holding a rifle in front of another figure spread on the ground.
Officials had earlier said the suspect was 22, but corrected that to 21 at Tuesday’s briefing.
Rotering said on Tuesday that she did not know where the gun the gunman used came from, but added that it was legally obtained.
“Our nation needs to have a conversation about these weekly events involving the murder of dozens of people with legally obtained guns,” she said.
The attack comes as Americans continue debate about gun control and whether stricter measures can prevent the mass shootings that happen so frequently in the United States.
(Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago, Jonathan Allen in New York and Doina Chiacu in WashingtonEditing by Alistair Bell)
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