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Highland Park parade shooting suspect charged with 7 counts of first-degree murder
An Illinois man who police say for weeks planned the mass shooting on a July Fourth parade has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.
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HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — An Illinois man who police say for weeks planned the mass shooting on a July Fourth parade has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in the killing spree, officials said Tuesday evening.
Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III, 21, will be charged with additional counts in the shooting spree in Highland Park that killed seven and injured dozens of others Monday, Illinois officials said.
If convicted of murder, Crimo would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Officials on Tuesday identified six of the seven people who were killed as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Irina McCarthy, 35; Kevin McCarthy, 37; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78.
The State's Attorney for Lake County Eric Rinehart called Monday’s shooting a “premeditated and calculated attack” and said that additional charges will likely include attempted murder and aggravated battery.
"We anticipate dozens of more charges centering around each of the victims," he said.
Crimo’s attorney Tom Durkin, said that prosecutors informed him that at a bond hearing Wednesday, they will request no bail, which Durkin said he would not contest "at this time."
Durkin said he has spoken to his client only briefly.
“I was just retained this afternoon," he said. "I've spoken to my client late this afternoon for 10 minutes by phone."
Crimo, whom police picked up hours after the rampage, scaled a fire escape ladder to make himself a sniper’s nest to fire on paradegoers below, authorities said.
He had planned the attack for weeks — and attempted to disguise himself as a woman to avoid detection, authorities said Tuesday.
“We do believe Crimo preplanned this attack for several weeks,” Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesperson Chris Covelli said Tuesday.
An image of Crimo, obtained by NBC Chicago from a senior law enforcement official, appeared to show him in a blue-and-white blouse with longer hair.
“During the attack, Crimo was dressed in women’s clothing, and investigators do believe he did this to conceal his facial tattoos and his identity and help him during the escape,” Covelli said.
The plan seemed to work initially, as Crimo is alleged to have walked undetected to his mother's home, borrowed her car and driven out of town.
"Following the attack, Crimo exited the roof, dropped his rifle, and he blended in with the crowd and he escaped,” Covelli said.
“He blended right in with everybody else as they were running around, almost as if he was an innocent spectator, as well.”
Investigators pieced together Crimo's movements based largely on video recorded Monday in downtown Highland Park, authorities said.
The sniper fired more than 70 rounds from his rooftop perch, randomly picking off victims below, officials said.
Covelli said there was no immediate evidence that the shooter was aiming for victims based on race or religion.
Crimo applied for a gun license in December 2019, when he was 19, and his father sponsored his application, according to Illinois state police, who issue gun owners’ licenses.