Police release additional information about Highland Park shooting suspect
He has been cooperating with police.
TOLEDO, Ohio — It was hours after the Monday parade shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, 30 miles north of Chicago, that a person of interest was apprehended. 21-year-old Robert “Bobby” Crimo lll, who will turn 22 in September, shot into the crowd at an Independence Day parade from a nearby rooftop.
“He brought a high-powered rifle to this parade. He accessed the roof of a business via a fire escape ladder, and began opening fire on the innocent Independence Day celebration goers,” Sgt. Christopher Covelli, a spokesperson for the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, explained.
Six people were killed and many more injured. The victims ranging in age from 8 to 85. Covelli says that the suspect dressed in women’s clothing to blend in with the crowd, after firing those shots with a gun that was legally purchased. The sergeant added that police believe Crimo fired more than 70 rounds into the crowd.
Witness Don Johnson tells ABC affiliate WLS that mothers struggled to comfort their children as fear and panic quickly spread.
“There were six or seven children crying their eyes out and the mothers finally got them settled down by singing ‘the wheels on the bus go round and round’,” Johnson recalled.
For another witness, Mary Ann Sendik, any sense of safety is shattered.
“It’s a day that people are just supposed to come together to celebrate this beautiful country that we live in — and you can’t feel safe doing it,” Sendik said, echoing the sentiments of many Americans.
Sergeant Covelli emphasized that law enforcement and the public have done a great job collaborating to further this investigation.
