Highland Park shooting: Robert Crimo admits to deadly attack, father sponsored gun permit

Robert Crimo, the 21-year-old suspect in the brutal Highland Park shooting allegedly contemplated another attack in Madison after he killed seven people during the Fourth of July parade near Chicago. Crimo drove for about 2 hours after he rained bullets on innocent revelers at the Highland Park parade and plotted to repeat his act in Madison, Wisconsin, authorities told US media on Wednesday. Crimo also confessed to killing seven people and gave a detailed account of how he considered attacking another Independence Day parade in Madison.

"He went into details about what he had done. He admitted to what he had done. We don't want to speculate on motives right now," said Lake County Attorney Eric Reinhart, as quoted by NBC News.

Crimo was presented at the Lake County court on Wednesday after being arrested as a "person of interest" by investigating officials. Following the court hearing, the judge ruled that Crimo, now a suspect, will be held without bail. He has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and is likely to face a dozen more before the investigation ends based on the number of wounded or injured during July 4th's carnage.

Assistant State Attorney Ben Dillon, as reported by BBC, said that a surveillance video pulled up by the police showed Crimo dumped his rifle in the garbage while he was fleeing the shooting site along with petrified parade-goers. He disguised as a woman to evade first responders arriving at the spot. Crimo then drove his mother's car and ended up in Madison, where he presumably thought of carrying out another attack when he saw the Fourth of July celebrations. "We do believe that he was driving around after the first attack and saw the celebration...but we do not have information to suggest that he planned on driving to Madison, initially," said Lake County Major of Crime Task Force, Chris Covelli, as quoted by NBC News.

Highland Park shooting suspect has previous encounters with police

Crimo was taken into custody around 6:30 pm in North Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday. Records showed the suspect was previously reported to police for making threats. The authorities recovered guns and daggers at his home, which he purchased in 2020. BBC also said that in 2019 police were called by his family members for threatening to "kill everyone" a week after Crimo attempted suicide. Recently, Crimo was reported for "suspicious behaviour" during an April visit to the local synagogue. The complainant believed that Crimo was "sizing up" the facility.

Why Crimo's father also responsible for the attack?

Crimo's firearms were said to be sponsored by his father in December 2021, when he was just 19. He signed on behalf of Crimo the application for a gun license as Illinois mandates an individual to be of 21 years old for possessing firearms. Surprisingly, the father, Robert Crimo Jr., agreed to his son's request despite past records of deranged behavior and an unhealthy hobby of collecting knives and daggers. In an interview with the NY Post, Crimo Jr. described his son's collection as equivalent to collecting "coins & basketball."

(Image: AP)