The attack was committed with an automatic weapon similar
to an AR-15 that had been purchased legally, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Chris Covelli said in a press briefing earlier this afternoon. More than 70 bullets were fired by the killer.
A seventh victim succumbed to his injuries, authorities also said on Tuesday. About 30 others were injured when the alleged killer, Robert Crimo, opened fire from the rooftop of a local business toward the crowds gathered in what is considered a peaceful north Chicago suburb for the traditional Fourth of July parade.
The 21-year-old man, who was arrested on Monday evening, appeared in court late Tuesday and was charged with seven counts of first degree murder. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
No reason has yet been established for this killing, said Mr. Covelli. However, it appears that the man opened fire randomly on the crowd, without particularly targeting a religious or ethnic group.
According to Mr. Covelli, Robert Crimo was able to climb onto the roof of a business using an exterior fire escape. After firing into the crowd, he left his gun behind and blended into the crowd. He mingled with people running around, almost as if he was an innocent bystander too
he described.
The feminine clothes he wore allowed him to hide his identity and the tattoos he wears on his face. It is not excluded that he wore a wig, said Mr. Covelli, which could explain why the initial description of the suspect mentioned long hair.
The abandoned weapon, entrusted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), played a major role in tracking down the killer, according to the Lake County sheriff’s deputy.
According to Mr. Covelli, Robert Crimo went after the killing to his mother’s home, where he borrowed his vehicle. When the police finally intercepted him a few hours later, they found another rifle in the car.
Other weapons were later found where Crimo lived. They were registered in his name and had also been purchased legally.
Deputy Chief Covelli declined to comment on Robert Crimo’s level of cooperation with the investigation, which is ongoing. Police have yet to study videos he posted online and meet people who know him.
Violent songs that intrigue
Unemployed after giving up graduate school, Robert Crimo had posted on YouTube under his stage nameAwake the Rapper“,”text”:”Awake the Rapper”}}”>Awake the Rapper songs with a few thousand views and in which he reveals the violence that inhabits him.
The protagonist of one of these videos, now unavailable, shoots at people, in a cartoon style with rough features, before finding himself lying in a pool of blood, shot by the police./Fuck this world/I’m living my dream”,”text”:”I just wanna scream/Fuck the world/I’m living my dream”}}”>I just wanna scream / Fuck the world / I’m living my dreamhe says.
In another song released eight months ago, according to the Chicago Tribunehe lets out darkly: I just need to do it […] It’s my destiny. Everything led me to this. Nothing can stop me, not even myself.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering told NBC that she knew him when he was a boy scout and led his group.
« He was just a little boy. […] And we wonder: what happened? How can someone get so mad, so hateful, to go after innocent people who were just spending a day out with family? »
His uncle, Paul Crimo, with whom he lived in nearby Highwood, described him as a very quiet kid
and youtube rapper
who does not express himself, remains seated in front of his computer
and with which he had no interaction
.
The nature of the relationship between Robert Crimo and his father Bob, a grocer who fought an unsuccessful 2019 election campaign to become mayor of Highland Park, was not immediately clear on Tuesday.
A friend of his from whom he had recently become estranged, Bennett Brizes, told the Washington Post that Robert Crimo was always apolitical
. I don’t know, man
he invariably replied when asked his opinion on world affairs.
However, he had posted on his now blocked Twitter account a photo showing him with a Trump flag around his shoulders, as well as an altered drawing of pepe the frog
a character who has become a rallying symbol for the American far right.
In another clip he directed, chilling footage shows him alone in a classroom, decked out in a helmet and body armor, with eerie, sardonic laughter playing in the background.
In another video, spotted by the Washington Posthe said hate when others get more attention than [lui] on the Internet
.