Fourth of July shooting survivor shares moments of ‘chaos’ at parade
After a gunman opened fire, killing multiple people, during a Fourth of July parade, the community is left grieving as it tries to heal.
Ariana Triggs, USA TODAY
An attorney for the parents of the suspect in the Highland Park parade shooting downplayed the couple’s involvement in the case and said they are cooperating “1,000 percent” with investigators.
Days earlier, the same attorney, Steve Greenberg, expressed outrage on Twitter against supporters of the assault weapons the parents helped the suspect obtain.
Illinois State Police said in a statement this week that Robert Crimo III applied for a gun owner’s license in December 2019 when he was 19 years old — a minor for license purposes — so his father sponsored the application. The plea came three months after a family member reported the suspect had threatened to “kill everyone” at his family’s house and police seized 16 knives, a dagger and a sword.
“The system is trying to do this to parenting,” attorney Steve Greenberg said in a Twitter post Wednesday. “Parents recognize that this is a valid concern.”
Lake County Prosecutor Eric Rinehart said he “doesn’t want to answer” right now whether the parents will face charges.
Crimo on Monday opened fire from a rooftop at the municipal Fourth of July parade, killing seven people and wounding dozens more, police said. He is being held without bond on seven counts of first-degree murder.
Key developments:
►Lake County authorities have released a photo that shows the Kel Tec SUB2000 handgun found in the suspect’s vehicle after he was arrested. The gun that killed dozens of people on the Fourth of July was a Smith & Wesson M&P15 semi-automatic rifle.
►Rinehart said he plans to file charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault against each person who was hurt, physically and/or emotionally. “There will be many, many more charges,” he said.
MOTIVE: Police say suspect bought legal gun, disguised himself to escape parade
TIMELINE: How the Highland Park July 4th Parade Shooting Unfolded
AVOIDING MASS SHOOTINGS: Reporting and writing about such tragedies has become routine—and endless. But it doesn’t get any easier.
Here’s what we know on Thursday:
Hours after the shooting, attorney Steve Greenberg tweeted that Highland Park was “where I grew up and raised my children. WTF is wrong with people. Nobody needs these powerful weapons!!!!! F @tedcruz, Mitch McConnell and everyone like them”
Two days later, Greenberg was working for the suspect’s parents, and his tweets were more sympathetic. The parents, Robert Crimmo and his wife, Denise, “shared everyone’s desire to understand everything that went wrong so it doesn’t happen again to more innocent people, children and families,” Greenberg wrote.
Greenberg stressed that the state police renewed the gun card when their son turned 21. “The bigger question,” Greenberg writes, is why military combat weapons are available for purchase by anyone. Greenberg also issued a statement on behalf of the parents, saying “our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to everyone.”
In the chaotic moments after the shooting stopped, the gunman initially evaded capture by dressing in women’s clothing and blending into the panicked crowd, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said. Surveillance video showed someone running with a black bag over his shoulder immediately after the shooting, said Ben Dillon, an assistant Lake County prosecutor. As the man ran, an object wrapped in cloth fell to the pavement. Authorities identified the object as a Smith & Wesson M&P15 semi-automatic rifle, Dillon said. One round was in the chamber, but no magazine was inserted.
Authorities traced the weapon left at the crime scene to the suspect, he said, and hours later released his photo with a warning that he may be armed and dangerous.
A neighbor later saw him in the vehicle and called 911. A few hours after the shooting, an officer stopped Crimo a few miles north of the shooting scene and he was taken into custody without incident, Covelli said.
Some do it out of a perverse desire to change the world. Others are driven by mental illness, pandemic isolation, or the influence of social media, which turns them into hateful and sadistic monsters. But there is one growing commonality among America’s mass shooters: their youth.
“They’re getting younger. “Why, of course, it’s going to take a little more research,” said Kathryn Schweitt, a former FBI agent who until 2017 headed the bureau’s active shooter program. “But so many of them seem to be crying out for attention — experiencing pandemic stress and indoctrinating themselves online. And, you know, trying to be famous. Read more here.
—Josh Meyer, USA TODAY
Zoe Kolpack was standing with her family Monday morning along the parade route in Highland Park when she heard the first shot. Then a bullet shattered the femur of the 28-year-old woman.
Her father tried to protect her with his body and was also hit. Amid the chaos, her husband and son-in-law were also hit by bullets. All were recovering from their wounds.
Just one family’s harrowing story was told by family friend Samantha Whitehead, 28, in an interview with USA TODAY as she sat next to Zoe Kolpack in her hospital room.
“It was horrible,” Whitehead told USA TODAY. “Horrifying.” Read more here.
– Nedea Yancey-Bragg
Credit: Associated Press
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