Highland Park shooting suspect charged with 7 counts of murder, more expected


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III was charged with murder Tuesday after firing 70 rounds into a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, killing seven people, authorities said.

The Illinois State Attorney’s Office announced the seven first-degree murder charges, one for each victim.

Robert E. Crimo, 21, has been identified as a person of interest in the July 4th parade attack in Highland Park, Illinois.
(Highland Park Police Department)

The office said the suspect, 21, faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole if he is convicted.

Six victims have been identified by the Lake County Coroner’s Office as Katherine Goldstein, 64, Irina McCarthy, 35, Kevin McCarthy, 37, Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, and Stephen Straus, 88, all of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza of Morelos, Mexico, 78.

HIGHLAND PARK FOURTH OF JULY PARADE SHOOTING VICTIMS IDENTIFIED: WHO WERE THEY?

A seventh victim has not yet been identified.

More charges are expected as Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart has promised his office will seek more for dozens of additional crimes.

People add strips of cloth with names and phrases memorializing the victims at a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.

People add strips of cloth with names and phrases memorializing the victims at a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
(Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

The charges were announced as more information concerning the suspect’s troubled history has been revealed.

POLICE FLAGGED HIGHLAND PARK SHOOTER ‘CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER’ IN 2019; HE LATER CLEARED 4 BACKGROUND CHECKS

On Tuesday, the Illinois State Police said they flagged the suspect as a “clear and present danger” following an altercation between the suspect and members of his family in 2019.

Illinois police said the suspect threatened members of his family, but the members did not file a legal complaint preventing law enforcement officers from taking action.

“In September 2019, ISP received a Clear and Present Danger report on the subject from the Highland Park Police Department. The report was related to threats the subject made against his family,” Illinois State Police said in a statement posted to Twitter by a Governor’s Office staff member.

Members of the FBI's evidence response team remove personal belongings one day after a mass shooting in downtown Highland Park, Ill., Tuesday, July 5, 2022.

Members of the FBI’s evidence response team remove personal belongings one day after a mass shooting in downtown Highland Park, Ill., Tuesday, July 5, 2022.
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Members of the family also did not “provide information on threats or mental health that would have allowed law enforcement to take additional action,” the ISP statement added.

HIGHLAND PARK FOURTH OF JULY SHOOTING: A TIMELINE OF EVENTS

The family also did not file a firearm restraining order or an order of protection, police said.

Any of these documents would have been seen during a criminal background check.

Brooke and Matt Strauss, who were married Sunday, pause after leaving their wedding bouquets in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, near the scene of Monday's mass shooting, Tuesday, July 5, 2022.

Brooke and Matt Strauss, who were married Sunday, pause after leaving their wedding bouquets in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, near the scene of Monday’s mass shooting, Tuesday, July 5, 2022.
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Less than a year later, in June 2020, the suspect cleared a background check to purchase a firearm. Illinois State Police said the suspect ultimately cleared state-required background checks to purchase firearms on at least four separate occasions between 2020 and 2021.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The suspect brought five weapons to the parade but carried out the attack with a high-powered rifle “similar to an AR-15,” the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said.

Fox News’ Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *