A man charged with seven counts of murder after firing more than 70 rounds at one on Tuesday Independence day Parade in the Suburban Chicago Police said five weapons were procured legally, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite officers being called to their homes for violence and suicide threats twice in 2019.
Lake County State Attorney Eric Rinehart said the suspect, if convicted of first-degree murder charges, would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. He promised that dozens more charges would be sought.
A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a rifle “similar to an AR-15” to spray more than 70 rounds from the top of a commercial building , which had gathered in the crowd. Parade in Highland Park, a thriving community of about 30,000 on Lake Michigan.
The seventh victim died on Tuesday. More than three dozen other people were injured in the attack, task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said the suspect had planned for several weeks.
The attack happened less than three years after police went to the suspect’s home after a family member said he was threatening to “kill everyone” there. Koveli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but added that he did not have a gun at the time in September 2019.
Koveli said that in April 2019, the police also responded to an alleged suicide attempt by the suspect.
Coveli said the suspect had legally purchased the rifle used in an assault in Illinois last year. In all, he bought five firearms, which the authorities recovered from his father’s house, police said.
The revelation about their gun purchases is the latest example of young men who were able to obtain guns and commit genocide in recent months despite their mental health and clear warning signs of an inclination to violence.
The Illinois State Police, which issues gun owners’ licenses, said the gunman applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19 years old. Her father sponsored her application.
The state police, in a statement, said at the time there was “insufficient ground to establish a clear and present danger” and rejected the application.
Coveli said investigators who have questioned the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims on the basis of race, religion or other protected status. has made.
Earlier in the day, FBI agents looked under trash cans and picnic blankets as they searched for more evidence at the scene. The shots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of fun-lovers fled in terror.
A day later, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked parade-goers remained inside an elaborate police perimeter. Outside the police tape, some residents went to collect blankets and chairs they had left behind.
David Shapiro, 47, said gunfire turned the parade into “chaos”.
“People didn’t immediately know where the bullets were coming from, whether the gunman was following you or not,” he said Tuesday, retrieving a stroller and lawn chairs.
Coveli said the gunman initially escaped capture by dressing up as a woman and joining the fleeing crowd.
The shooting was the latest to shatter the customs of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months. This time, bloodshed ensued as the nation tried to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together.
Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogman said a police officer pulled 21-year-old Robert E. Cremo III north of the shooting site after police released a photo of him and warned he could be armed and dangerous.
His father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, ran for mayor in 2019. The candidate who won that race, current Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rottering, said she knew Cremo as a boy in the Cub Scouts.
“And it’s one of those things where you step back and say, ‘What happened? Rottering told NBC’s “Today” show. “How could someone get so angry, so disgusting, then take it out on innocent people who were literally just having a family day?”
Cremo’s lawyer, Thomas A. Durkin, a prominent Chicago attorney, said he wanted to plead not guilty to all charges.
When asked about his client’s emotional state, Durkin said he has spoken to Cremo only once – for 10 minutes on the phone. He declined to comment further.
The parents’ attorney, Steve Greenberg, told The Associated Press Tuesday evening that the parents are not concerned about being accused of anything related to their son’s case.
“There is no chance that he will be charged with anything criminal,” he said. “They didn’t do anything wrong. They’re as stunned and stunned as anyone.”
The shooting took place at a location on the parade route, where many residents had captured key scene points early in the day.
Among them were Nicolas Toledo, who was visiting his family from Mexico to Illinois, and Jackie Sundheim, a lifelong congregation and staff member at the nearby North Shore Congregation of Israel. The Lake County coroner released the names of four other victims.
Hospital officials said nine people, aged between 14 and 70, remained hospitalized on Tuesday.
Since the start of the year, the US has seen 15 shootings where four or more people were killed, including one in Highland Park, according to the Associated Press/USA Today/Northeastern University Mass Killing Database.
Eight people were killed and 60 others injured in several small-scale shootings in nearby Chicago over the weekend of July 4.
In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association immediately challenged the liberal suburb’s stance. The legal battle ended at the doors of the US Supreme Court in 2015 when judges refused to hear the case and allowed suburban restrictions to remain in place.
Under Illinois law, people convicted of a felony, drug addicts or those with what is called a “mental defect” and capable of causing harm to themselves or others may be denied purchases of a gun. It may have stopped a suicide crewman from getting a weapon.
But under the law, who is “of mental defect” must be decided by “a court, board, commission, or other legal authority”.
The state has a so-called red flag law that is designed to stop dangerous people from being killed before they happen, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or the police to order a seizure of guns from a judge.
Cremo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper named Awake the Rapper, who posted dozens of videos and songs on social media, some ominous and violent.
In an animated video since removed by YouTube, Cremo raps about armies “walking in the dark” as a man points to another figure with a rifle, a body on the ground and hands in the distance. does.
A law enforcement official said federal agents were reviewing Cremo’s online profile, and preliminary investigations of his Internet history indicated he had researched mass murders and downloaded several photos depicting violent acts, In which a law enforcement officer said.
Officials could not discuss the details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in Chicago on Tuesday to address the annual meeting of the National Education Association, visited the shooting site to offer condolences to first responders and local officials.
“The whole country must understand and have a level of empathy, to understand that this can happen anywhere, in any peace-loving community,” Harris said in brief remarks to reporters at Highland Park. “And we must stand together and speak out why this has to stop.”
Shapiro, a Highland Park resident who fled the parade with his family, said his 2-year-old son woke up later that night screaming.
“He’s too young to understand what happened,” Shapiro said. “But he knows something bad has happened.”
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