Man charged with killing seven people after he opened fire on one independence day parade Police said they bought a high-powered rifle and four other weapons used in the shooting legally despite threats of violence from a rooftop in suburban Chicago.
Robert E. Cremo III was charged with seven counts of manslaughter in Tuesday’s shooting that left hundreds of marchers, parents and children fleeing in fear and a riot in and around Highland Park, an affluent community on the shores of Lake Michigan. Hours search began. , Investigators have yet to identify a motive.
Prosecutors have promised to charge dozens more, and Cremo is expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday. His lawyer said he wanted to file a plea of not guilty of all the charges.
A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said a rifle “similar to an AR-15” was used to spray more than 70 rounds into the parade crowd from the top of a commercial building.
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 Cremo’s home after a family member said he was threatening to “kill everyone” there. Mr Koveli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said in September 2019 he did not have a gun with him at the time.
Police also responded to an alleged suicide attempt by the suspect in April 2019, Mr Koveli said.
Cremo had legally purchased the rifle used in the assault in Illinois over the past year, Mr Kovelli said. 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 Cremo applied for the 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 any motive or found any indication that he has classified victims on the basis of race, religion or other protected status. Targeted.
At the July 4th parade, the shots were initially mistaken for fireworks, before hundreds of revelers fled in panic. 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.
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.
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.
Coveli said the gunman initially escaped capture by dressing up as a woman and joining the fleeing crowd.
Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said a police officer pulled up 21-year-old Cremo north of the shooting site several hours after police released a photo of him and warned he could be armed and dangerous.
When asked about his client’s emotional state, leading Chicago attorney Thomas A. Durkin said he only spoke to Cremo once—for 10 minutes on the phone. He declined to comment further.
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 deemed capable of causing harm to themselves or others may be denied purchases of a gun. That last provision would have barred Suicide Crimes from obtaining weapons.
But under the law, to whom this provision applies 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.
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.
Highland Park resident Shapiro, who fled the parade with his family, said his 4-year-old son was screaming later that night.
“He’s too young to understand what happened,” Shapiro said. “But he knows something bad happened.”