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Illinois State Police confirmed Tuesday that the father of the Highland Park parade shooting suspect sponsored his son’s application for a gun permit months after relatives reported that Robert E. Crimo III threatened to “kill everybody” and that the authorities do not have “insufficient grounds” to reject the application.
The revelation that Crimo, 21, had at least two previous run-ins with law enforcement raised new questions about how he was able to legally purchase his weapons and whether more could have been done to prevent the massacre that killed seven people and injured more than 30.
In September 2019, a family member told Highland Park police that Crimo had threatened to “kill everybody,” said Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force. Officers visited Crimo’s home and seized 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but made no arrests, Covelli said Tuesday, because probable cause was lacking. However, they notified the Illinois State Police, he said.
Months later, in December, Crimo applied for a firearms owner’s identification card, the document required to own a gun in Illinois. Because Crimo was under 21 at the time, state law required him to have the consent of a parent or guardian before he could possess a firearm or ammunition. According to state police, which issues the cards, Crimo’s father sponsored the permit application.
On July 5, the suspect in the Highland Park shooting was charged with seven counts of murder, with more charges expected in the coming days. (Video: Neeti Upadhye/Reuters)
State police received a “clear and present danger report” for Crimo after the September incident, but because he didn’t have a pending application or active clearance, known as a FOID card, at the time, the agency decided there was no action it could take. . In reviewing Crimo’s application less than six months later, state police officials again decided there was nothing they could do — this time, the agency said, because Crimo had a sponsor.
“The subject was under the age of 21 and the application was sponsored by the subject’s father,” Illinois State Police said in a statement. “Therefore, during the review of the FOID application in January 2020, there were insufficient grounds to find a clear and present danger and deny the FOID application.”
Threats from a suspect in Highland Park caught the attention of police in 2019
In a subsequent statement, state police said Crimo passed four federal background checks when purchasing his firearms and said a Highland Park police report indicated he told officers he did not mean to harm himself or others when they interviewed him in September 2019. At the time, Crimo’s father claimed the seized knives were his, and Highland Park police returned them that afternoon, state police said.
Officials on Tuesday did not say whether the police seizure of knives and other weapons should have been sufficient grounds to deny Crimo’s request.
“Highland Park Police notified the Illinois State Police,” Covelli said. “From now on I don’t want to talk to him.”
The news comes after police said Crimo planned the attack for weeks and used a legally purchased military weapon in the massacre. Authorities charged Crimo with seven counts of first-degree murder on Tuesday, but said they had not found a definitive motive for the rampage that rocked the Chicago suburb of 30,000 two days after the Independence Day shooting.
Crimo acquired five firearms in 2020 and 2021, Covelli said, including the semi-automatic rifle he allegedly used to fire more than 70 rounds into crowds gathered to celebrate the American holiday. He tried to hide his identity by wearing women’s clothing, police said, and initially eluded capture by blending in with those fleeing the shooting.
The victims, identified by authorities, range in age from 35 to 88. Some of the victims included Jackie Sundheim, a staff member and preschool teacher at a nearby synagogue; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragosa, a doting grandfather who recently moved back to Highland Park to be closer to family; and Kevin and Irina McCarthy, the parents of a 2-year-old boy.
Highland Park suspect charged with murder as community mourns
Cassie Goldstein told NBC News on Tuesday that she and her mother, Catherine Goldstein, 64, were watching the city’s Fourth of July parade when they heard what they thought were firecrackers being thrown down the street.
“And then I looked up and I saw the shooter shooting at the kids,” the 22-year-old told host Lester Holt. “And I told her it was a shooter and she needed to run.”
Shortly after they started running, Katherine Goldstein was shot in the chest and hit the pavement, the daughter said.
“I knew she was dead,” Cassie Goldstein told NBC. “I just told her I love her but I couldn’t stop because he was still shooting at everyone next to me.”
Highland Park victim’s daughter: “He shot her in the chest and she went down and I knew she was dead. I told her I love her but I couldn’t stop because he kept shooting…” pic.twitter. com/Rgzr6uLLdl
— Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 6, 2022
Illinois law requires a FOID card to own a gun. The cards, issued by the Illinois State Police, require “each qualified applicant” to meet at least 15 requirements listed on the agency’s website.
At a press conference announcing the initial criminal charges against Crimo, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said Illinois’ red flag law, which allows relatives to ask a court to temporarily take away guns from those deemed violent or threatening, is “very powerful”. However, the law is rarely used.
“We need to greatly increase awareness and education about this red flag law,” Rinehart said.
In the days after the shooting, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) vowed to strengthen state laws in an effort to prevent another tragedy like the one in Highland Park.
“Unfortunately, every time a mass shooting occurs, it serves as a stark reminder that our gun laws often fall short of the rigorous standards that feel like common sense to most Americans,” the governor said in a statement. “I urge all Illinoisans to learn about and use the Illinois Firearms Restraining Order Law now in place to alert authorities to dangerous individuals with guns.” My administration will work with the General Assembly to ensure that we take on the gun lobby and do everything we can to further strengthen our gun control and red flag laws.
Attorney Steve Greenberg, who represents Crimo’s family, defended the parents in an interview with NewsNation, saying “they would have acted” if they had seen signs that their son was capable of a mass shooting.
“I think the bigger issue here is why can a kid get a FOID card and then purchase a military assault weapon?” Greenberg said. “I think that’s a bigger question that we have to ask ourselves. Not if the family had to sponsor him to get a FOID card when there were no red flags and it was perfectly legal.
Critics, however, are demanding answers as to why Crimo’s father sponsored his application for a gun permit.
“He threatened to kill everyone, his knives were taken away and 3 months later his father still signed his Firearms Owner Identification (FOID) card making him eligible to purchase a firearm,” Joe tweeted Walsh, a former Republican congressman. of Illinois, who has become a fierce critic of former President Donald Trump and his allies in the Republican Party. “His father has some explaining to do.”
Kim Beluer, Mark Berman, Brian Piech, Gerrit De Vink, Robert Klemko, Joanna Slater, Marissa Iaty, and Annabelle Timsitt contributed to this report.
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