The father of the Highland Park shooting suspect claimed his son called the Copenhagen shooter an 'idiot' the night before the July 4th massacre

• The father of the Highland Park shooting suspect said he talked about another mass shooting the night before the massacre.
• Robert Crimo Jr. said his son called the gunman who killed three people at a Copenhagen shopping mall*/ an "idiot."

The father of the Highland Park shooting suspect said he talked about another mass shooting with his son the night before the Fourth of July massacre, the New York Post reported.

On Monday, a gunman opened fire during an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois — about 30 miles north of Chicago — killing seven people and injuring at least 31. The 21-year-old suspected gunman, who was taken into custody after a manhunt, was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and could face "dozens more" charges, the Lake County state attorney said.

In an interview with the Post, Robert Crimo Jr., the father of the suspect, said he and his son discussed another mass shooting at a shopping mall in Copenhagen, Denmark, in which a 22-year-old Danish man shot and killed three people on July 3.

"He goes, 'Yeah, that guy is an idiot.' That's what he said!" the dad recalled of the conversation he had with his son, adding that his son also said "people like that … [commit mass shootings] to amp up the people that want to ban all guns."

The suspect's father is facing criticism for sponsoring his son's firearm owner's identification card before he turned 21, but he maintained to the Post that he had "zero" involvement in the mass shooting. It's unclear if the suspect had to renew his firearm permit when he turned 21.

Earlier Wednesday, the parents of the Highland Park suspected shooter retained attorney Steve Greenberg, whose firm has previously represented disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly.

"We are all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and this is a terrible tragedy for many families, the victims, the paradegoers, the community, and our own," the parents said in a statement, per Greenberg. "Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to everybody."