Highland Park gunman admitted to firing on parade crowd & contemplated attack in Madison, Wisconsin, officials say
(CNN) — The gunman in Monday’s massacre at a Fourth of July parade in the Illinois city of Highland Park admitted he carried out the attack, killing seven and wounding dozens of others, prosecutors said in court Wednesday.
Robert E. Crimo III, 21, told authorities in a voluntary statement that he “looked down his sights, aimed and opened fire” on paradegoers, emptying two 30-round magazines before loading his weapon with a third and firing again, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon alleged during a virtual bail hearing.
A judge ordered Crimo, who appeared at the hearing wearing black, to be held without bail on seven charges of first-degree murder. A conviction would result in a sentence of life imprisonment without parole, but more charges could be filed in the future, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said.
“For each individual that was hurt, people can anticipate an attempted murder charge as well as an aggravated battery with a firearm charge,” Rinehart said in a news conference following the hearing. He added: “Every time he fires a bullet at an individual, he is committing aggravated discharge of a weapon, whether he hit someone or not. There will be many more charges coming in the coming weeks.”
Crimo was appointed a public defender and is due in court again July 28.
According to authorities, the shooter opened fire from a rooftop on a Highland Park business as the parade was underway just after 10 a.m. CT on Monday.
Crimo dressed in women’s clothing to conceal his identity and used makeup to cover his tattoos, investigators believe. He left the roof and blended in with the fleeing crowd, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesperson Chris Covelli previously said.
Five people shot at the parade were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said, and two people hospitalized succumbed to wounds. A total of 39 patients were transported to medical facilities “by either ambulance or other means,” according to Jim Anthony with NorthShore University Health System, and two patients remain hospitalized as of Wednesday afternoon.
Surveillance video from the scene showed a person running west with a black bag over the shoulder immediately after the shooting, Dillon said Wednesday, outlining the events of July Fourth. While the individual was running, an object wrapped in cloth fell to the pavement. The subject left the object and continued running.
When it was recovered, authorities identified the object as a Smith & Wesson M&P15 semi-automatic rifle, Dillon said. One round was in the chamber, but there was no magazine inserted.
On the rooftop, investigators recovered the three 30-round magazines and 83 shell casings, Dillon said.
Crimo is believed by authorities to have planned the attack for weeks, and the rifle he used and another he allegedly had when he was arrested by police appear to have been purchased legally in Illinois, Covelli said. Other guns were recovered from his home in nearby Highwood.
There could have been even more carnage: According to a police spokesperson, Crimo drove to Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday following the Illinois shooting, and contemplated an attack.
Crimo saw “a celebration that was occurring … and he seriously contemplated using the firearm he had in his vehicle to commit another shooting in Madison,” Covelli told reporters after Wednesday’s hearing, identifying the weapon as a Kel-Tec SUB200. Crimo had approximately 60 rounds of ammunition in his car at the time, Covelli said.
“We don’t have information to suggest he planned on driving to Madison initially to commit another attack. (But) we do believe that he was driving around following the first attack and saw the celebration,” Covelli said.
“Indications are that he hadn’t put enough thought or research into it,” Covelli said.
Covelli again declined to address the suspect’s motive, telling reporters he didn’t want to go into specific details about what Crimo told investigators.
“However, he had some type of affinity towards the numbers 4 and 7, and the inverse was 7/4,” Covelli said, referring to Monday’s date, July 4. According to Covelli, Crimo’s affinity “comes from music that he’s interested in.”
Officials have no information to suggest Monday’s shooting was “racially motivated, motivated by religion, or any other protected status,” Covelli said.
