The family of the 21-year-old man identified as the gunman who opened fire on a crowd celebrating the Fourth of July in Highland Park, Illinois, appears to have deep roots in the community. His father ran for mayor; his grandfather was born in town and buried in a cemetery 13 miles outside of town.
But there were signs of trouble in the family.
In April 2019, someone who knew Robert E. Crimo III, the man identified as the shooter, called police to say the teenager had attempted suicide, police said.
Four months later, a family member contacted the authorities, reporting that Mr. Crimo had threatened to “kill everyone.” Officers recovered 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from the home, but there was no probable cause to arrest him at the time, Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office told reporters Tuesday.
When Mr. Crimo’s portrait emerged, authorities said they were looking at videos he had posted on social media, some of which showed disturbing drawings of mass shootings.
“We’ll look at them and see what they reveal,” Chief Covelli said.
Mr. Crimo’s grandfather, Robert Crimo, who died in 2018, was born in the city in 1929, according to his obituary. When his son, a deli owner, ran for mayor against incumbent Nancy Rothering, he said he wanted to improve local ordinances to help downtown businesses thrive.
“Highland Park is my home and always will be,” Robert Crimo Jr. wrote in a campaign questionnaire published in a local paper.
Ms Rothering, who has been the city’s mayor for 12 years, described the 2019 race as a “nice” race, devoid of nasty campaigning. She won re-election with more than 73 percent of the vote, according to the Lake County Clerk’s office.
The Crimos’ longtime connection to the city is typical of many residents of Highland Park, a community made up of many intergenerational families. Ms. Rothering said she knew Robert Crimo III when he was about 6 years old and was a Boy Scout in a troop she led.
Then there was nothing unusual about Mr. Crimo, who as a child learned to build fires and camp in the woods like other scouts, she said.
“He was just a little boy,” Ms Rothering said.
He didn’t go to college, but spent some time on social media as an aspiring YouTube artist and rapper, according to his uncle, Paul Crimo, who spoke to a local television station, FOX 32.
Mr. Crimo’s music videos appear to reference mass shootings. One video features cartoon images of a gunman pointing a large rifle and other figures spewing blood. Later in the video, the shooter is lying in a pool of blood near police cars.
Another video shows Mr. Crimo with a newspaper displayed on the wall behind him with a headline about the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald, who killed President Kennedy in 1963. Mr. Crimo, who identifies himself as “Wake Up the Rapper,” is sitting on a bed in front of the newspaper. Above his left eyebrow was tattooed the word ‘Awaken’.
Investigators are reviewing the videos taken by Mr. Crimo, and they “will be part of the investigation,” Chief Covelli said.
Paul Crimo said he shared a family home with the younger Mr Crimo and had spoken to him on Sunday night. “I didn’t see any signs of trouble. And if I had seen signs, I would have said something,” he said in the interview with FOX 32. “My heart is deeply broken and I will be heartbroken for the rest of my life.”
Authorities said Mr. Crimo acquired five firearms after the knives were seized from his home, including two AR-style rifles, several handguns and possibly a shotgun. But the uncle said he did not know where Mr. Crimo might have acquired the gun used in the shooting and was not aware if Mr. Crimo had any mental problems.
Mr. Crimo was a “really quiet kid,” the uncle said. “He keeps to himself and doesn’t express himself. He just sits down at his computer. There is no interaction between me and him.
Nicolas Lopez and Andres Lopez went to middle and high school with Mr. Crimo in Highland Park. Credit…Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times
Jeremy Kahnman, who ran an after-school sports program at Lincoln Elementary about a decade ago, said what struck him was that Mr. Crimo and his brother were often left waiting at the end of the day.
“When the program ended at 4:30, everyone else had their parents, grandparents or caregivers pick them up and take them home. And the last kids waiting there every day were Crimo’s kids,” he said.
He said teachers at the school had spoken about Mr Crimo’s parents being difficult to reach. “It was a common occurrence,” he said. “If they had to contact anyone in that house, they just couldn’t.”
Mr. Crimo, who was about 10 years old and called “Bobby” at the time, was “average,” he said. “He was quiet, he wasn’t disruptive and he wasn’t necessarily a problem any more than another 10-year-old.”
Nicolas and Andres Lopez, brothers who later went to Highland Park High School with Mr. Crimo, said they were friends with him.
“There was a group of five people, we were skateboarding in Highland Park and Highwood,” said Nicolas Lopez. “We smoke and do high school stuff.”
Mr. Crimo dropped out of high school at one point, but the brothers said there was nothing to suggest a problem during the time they were friends.
“He was always quiet and reserved, but kind,” said 23-year-old Andres Lopez. “He wasn’t a quiet kid that was dark back then. He was silent because he was a nerd. He wasn’t creepy.
In 2017, Lopez’s older brother, Anthony Laporte, died of a heroin overdose.
Mr. Crimo spoke at the funeral, the brothers recalled.
“He was very upset, saying my brother was one of his only friends,” said Nicolas Lopez.
He said he believed a woman Mr. Crimo was dating also broke up with him at the same time.
“Then he started acting strange,” Andres Lopez said. “He was reclusive.”
Alfredo Balbuena, 22, said he knew Mr Krimos from Highland Park High School and described him as a “quiet, lonely kid” who often dressed in black.
“He kept to himself,” Mr. Balbuena said. “He wore black bandanas, emo stuff and had a lot of tattoos.”
Michael Levenson contributed reporting.
Add Comment