- A suspect has been taken into custody following the shooting at the
Highland Park Fourth of July parade, police said. - Authorities identified the suspect as 21-year-old Robert "Bobby" E. Crimo III.
Details are beginning to emerge about the shooting suspect and the weeks leading up to the attack. During a press conference on Tuesday, Chris Covelli, spokesperson for Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, said authorities believed that the shooting suspect "pre-planned the attack for several weeks."
The day's horrors began when shots rang out at 10:14 a.m. local time, as the parade was roughly three-quarters of the way through, authorities said Monday afternoon.
The shooting suspect was arrested at around 6:30 p.m. after an eight-hour manhunt, per CBS News. A wanted poster for the suspect described him as a thin, white man with brown hair who was believed to be driving a 2010 Silver Honda Fit. Authorities in North Chicago spotted his vehicle, and he fled but was later taken into custody without incident, CBS News reported.
Ahead of the arrest, the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched a home in Highwood, just over a mile from the shooting scene in Highland Park, according to WGN-TV. Axios reported that the shooting suspect lives in the home with his father and uncle.
On Tuesday, authorities said that a total of seven people had been killed in the
—Jenna Barnes (@Jenna_Barnes) July 4, 2022
The weapon used in the shooing was obtained legally, authorities say
On Tuesday morning, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said the weapon used in the shooting was legally obtained.
"I don't know where the gun came from, but I do know that it was legally obtained, and I think at some point this nation needs to have a conversation about these weekly events involving the murder of dozens of people with legally obtained guns," Rotering said on Today.
Covelli said the shooting suspect was in possession of two rifles and multiple other firearms, all of which were legally purchased in his name. He owned a total of five firearms, Covelli said at a later press conference on Tuesday.
"He purchased the weapons locally within the region so the Chicago land area," Covelli told reporters. "He was in possession of the firearm the day of, the rifle. He was in possession of another rifle in his vehicle when he was pulled over by police."
Covelli said the weapon used in the shooting was a "high-powered rifle that shot high-velocity rounds."
"It was similar to an AR-15," Covelli said, noting that police do not believe the weapon was modified.
He added that the shooting appeared to be "completely random," and police have no indicators that the gunman was motivated by race, religion, or any other protected status.
In an afternoon press conference, Covelli said that on two separate occasions, authorities became aware of the shooting suspect. Covelli said that in September 2019, Highland Park Police received a tip that the shooting suspect said he was going to "kill everyone," and that he possessed knives as well as a sword.
Police showed up to his residence and confiscated 16 knives at the time, Covelli said, but were not aware of any other weapons at the time. Covelli added that in April, authorities received a wellness check call for the shooting suspect when an individual reported to HPPD that he had attempted to take his own life.
Covelli added that the suspect's Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card was approved in 2020, with his father's sponsorship and after the confiscation of other weapons. Covelli told reporters that there was no "probable cause" to arrest the suspect at the time.
The shooting suspect wore women's clothes to blend in with panicked parade-goers
Covelli said the suspect wore women's clothing "in an attempt to conceal himself" while fleeing the parade after the shooting.
"Investigators do believe he did this to conceal his facial tattoos and his identity," Covelli said.
"He walked to his mother's home who lived in the area and he blended right in with everybody else as they were running around almost as if he was an innocent spectator as well," the police spokesperson said.
The suspect walked to his mother's home not far from the parade and borrowed her vehicle before fleeing, Covelli said.
Video evidence played a "tremendous role" in identifying the suspect, Covelli said.
Covelli added that the department believes a female witness saw the shooting suspect drop a rifle inside a red blanket behind a Ross clothing store immediately after the shooting, and called for witnesses to share more information.
The suspect reportedly posted videos showing mass murder
Mayor Rotering told Today that she knew the shooting suspect when he was "just a little boy."
"I don't believe he was previously known to police until yesterday," Rotering said. "I know him as somebody who was a cub scout when I was the cub scout leader, and it's one of those things where you step back and you say, 'What happened? How did somebody become this angry, this hateful to then take it out on innocent people who literally were just having a family day out?'"
NBC News reported that the shooting suspect rapped under the name "Awake" and posted music videos depicting mass murders, including a school shooting and a police shooting. The YouTube videos were taken down as of Monday night, per NBC.
One of the videos posted on the now-removed channel included footage showing the parade route just under a year ago, with an emergency siren playing as audio, according to NBC.
"We know that several postings really reflected a plan and a desire to commit carnage for a long time in advance," Rotering said on Today. "Somebody clearly had a mental breakdown, but I don't want to even ascribe it to mental health. I want us to talk about the fact that there are weapons of war on our streets, that people can legally obtain these, and then take out dozens of people."
"This tragedy never should have arrived at our doorsteps, and as a small town, everybody knows somebody who was affected by this directly," Rotering said on Today. "Our community is never going to recover from this wound."
The shooting suspect was charged with seven counts of first degree murder, Lake County State Attorney Eric Rinehart said on Tuesday.