And as another community reeled after a shocking mass shooting on the nation’s birthday, local officials began to question how the suspect was able to purchase a gun given his previous run-ins with law enforcement.
Robert E. Crimo III, 21, faces seven counts of first-degree murder “for the murders he unleashed on our community,” Lake County District Attorney Eric Rinehart said at a news conference Tuesday. A conviction would have resulted in a sentence of life in prison without parole, he said.
“These are just the first of many charges that will be brought against Mr. Crimo. I want to emphasize that,” Rinehart said, and prosecutors will ask a judge to deny bail.
According to authorities, the suspect opened fire from the roof of a building in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park as the parade began shortly after 10 a.m. CT Monday. More than 70 high-velocity shots were fired from a rifle “similar to an AR-15,” according to Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Chris Covelli, after which the shooter fled the area. Five of those shot at the parade were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said, and two people hospitalized died of their wounds. A total of 39 patients were transported to medical facilities “either by ambulance or otherwise,” according to Jim Anthony of NorthShore University Health System, and nine patients — whose ages ranged from 14 to their 70s — remain hospitalized at their Health Crimo had another rifle in his car when he was pulled over by police hours after the shooting, Covelli said, and other firearms were recovered from his residence in nearby Highwood. Authorities believe Crimo had been planning the attack for weeks, and the rifle used appeared to have been purchased legally in Illinois, he said.
Still, information released by state and local police indicated the suspect had previously required officer intervention due to threats of violence and mental health issues.
The suspect had previous contact with the police and had a legal weapon
Crimo had two run-ins with police in 2019 over concerns for his safety and that of others, information that led the city’s mayor to wonder how Crimo was later able to legally obtain firearms.
The Highland Park Police Department received a report in April 2019 that Crimo had previously attempted suicide, Covelli said Tuesday. Police have spoken with Crimo and his parents and the matter has been reviewed by mental health professionals, he said.
In September of that year, a family member reported that Crimo was threatening to “kill everyone” and had a collection of knives, Covelli said. The police removed 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from their home. Highland Park police reported the incident to the Illinois State Police, who said in a news release Tuesday that family members did not wish to file additional complaints.
The knives confiscated by Highland Park police were returned the same day after Crimo’s father claimed they were his, ISP said.
Over the next two years, Crimo legally purchased five firearms, according to Covelli — a combination of rifles, a handgun and possibly a shotgun. The ISP confirmed on Tuesday that Crimo passed four basic background checks between June 2020 and September 2021 when purchasing firearms, which included checks on the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
To buy firearms in Illinois, people need a Firearms Owner Identification (FOID) card. Crimo was under 21, so he was sponsored by his father, state police said. Crimo’s application was not dismissed because there was not, at the time, “sufficient grounds to establish a clear and present danger.”
The only felony included in Crimo’s criminal history was a January 2016 ordinance violation for possession of tobacco, police said, that occurred when he was a juvenile.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering — who said she knew the suspect as a Cub Scout boy — said she “looks forward to an explanation” of how Crimo was able to obtain firearms, saying Highland Park police filed required reports.
“We know that in other countries people suffer from mental illness, suffer from anger, maybe play violent video games, but they can’t get their hands on these weapons of war and they can’t lead to this kind of carnage. This has to stop,” the mayor said to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday, noting that the state has “red flag” laws, but people should speak up if they see warning signs from people.
Investigators are working to establish a motive.
One detail that emerged about Crimo was that he had attended a Passover service in April at Central Avenue Synagogue in Highland Park, according to a congregational official. He “didn’t look familiar” and left on his own, the official told CNN.
Officials currently “have no information to suggest that at this point it was racially motivated, religiously motivated or any other protected status,” Covelli said.
6 of the victims identified by officials
On Tuesday, authorities identified six of the seven victims killed in the shooting:
- Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park
- Irina McCarthy, 35, of Highland Park
- Kevin McCarthy, 37, of Highland Park
- Jacqueline Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park
- Stephen Strouse, 88, of Highland Park
- Nicolas Toledo-Zaragosa, 78, of Morelos, Mexico
A seventh victim died at a hospital outside Lake County, Coroner Jennifer Banek said.
One of those injured in the shooting was Eduardo Uvaldo, a 69-year-old man who was taken off the ventilator and fighting for his life at an Evanston hospital, his daughter told CNN on Tuesday.
“The doctors said there was nothing they could do,” Karina Uvaldo-Mendez said, but added that her father was still breathing on his own. “We need everyone to keep us in their prayers.”
Uvaldo was shot in the arm and then in the back of the head, according to a verified GoFundMe campaign. His wife and grandson also suffered injuries, Uvaldo-Mendez said.
He tended to avoid parades because he didn’t like crowds, she said — but he liked the one in Highland Park, and it was the only one he attended annually.
Taylor Romine, Rebecca Rees, Joe Sutton, Adrienne Broadus, Sarah Smart, Sharif Paget, Laura Clairmont, Ashley Killough, Jason Kravarik, Alicia Ebrahimji, Amir Vera, Steve Almasi, Jason Hanna, Eric Levenson, Helen Regan, and Vanessa Price contributed to this report.
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