Kathleen Floody, The Associated Press Posted on Wed Jul 27, 2022 4:13 pm EDT
CHICAGO (AP) — The man accused of opening fire at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago has been indicted by a grand jury on 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery. representing the seven people killed and dozens injured in the attack on a beloved holiday.
Prosecutors previously filed seven counts of murder against Robert E. Crimo III. They announced the grand jury’s decision to indict him on 117 counts on Wednesday.
Crimo’s attorneys have yet to formally respond to any of the charges he faces in the July 4 shooting in downtown Highland Park, Illinois. A message left with the county public defenders office Wednesday was not immediately returned.
Prosecutors said Crimo, 21, confessed to the shooting when police arrested him after an hours-long manhunt on July 4.
Under Illinois law, prosecutors can ask a grand jury to determine whether there is probable cause to start a trial. Grand jury proceedings are not open to the public and defense attorneys cannot question witnesses.
The multiple first-degree murder charges allege Crimo intended to kill, caused death or serious bodily injury and acted with a high probability of causing death or serious bodily injury to the seven people who died.
Authorities said the more than 30 injured ranged in age from 8 to 80, including an 8-year-old boy who was paralyzed from the waist down when the gunfire severed his spine.
Prosecutors said Monday that the 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated assault with a firearm represent “any victim who was struck by a bullet, bullet fragment or shrapnel.”
“I want to thank the law enforcement agencies and prosecutors who presented evidence to the grand jury today,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement. “Our investigation is ongoing and our victim specialists are working around the clock to support everyone affected by this crime which has resulted in 117 offenses being laid today.”
During a hearing presenting the murder charges, prosecutors said police found more than 80 spent shell casings on the roof of a building along the parade route and the semi-automatic rifle used in the attack on the ground nearby.
Investigators believe Crimo joined the fleeing crowd to get away from the scene, then took his mother’s car and briefly considered a second attack at a party in Madison, Wisconsin, before returning to Illinois, where police arrested him.
Crimo is due in court on August 3.
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