The alleged perpetrator of the Independence Day massacre in Highland Park, near the US city of Chicago, on Tuesday (5) was charged with the murder of seven people in the first degree and could be sentenced to life in prison. Lake County State Attorney Eric Rinehart said.

Robert Crimo, 21, was arrested yesterday hours after shooting at crowds watching the July 4th parade. “New charges will be brought against him,” said Rinehart, who reported seven counts of first-degree murder.

The moment of the arrest of a suspect in the Independence Day massacre – Photo: Reproduction / ND

“We expect dozens of indictments more focused on each of the victims,” the prosecutor added. The suspect used “a powerful AR-15-like rifle” to carry out the attack, which he had been planning for weeks,” said Christopher Covelli, a Highland Park police officer.

Krimo “was dressed in women’s clothes” to hide his identity, and he may have donned a long wig to hide his facial tattoos. After the attack, he dropped his weapons and joined the people fleeing the chaos.

The young man fired more than 70 shots, killing seven people and injuring at least 35 people, according to a statement released by police on Tuesday.

Among the dead couple, Irina and Kevin McCarthy, whose two-year-old son Aiden was saved thanks to one of the villagers, who took the child to safety.

On Tuesday, the suburb’s main street was still closed off by police, leaving it feeling like time had stopped here.

A baby stroller, a tricycle and several folding chairs left at the scene, among other items, show the chaos caused by the general exodus of the crowd after Monday’s shooting.

Dr. David Baum, who participated in the rescue, witnessed the horror. “The horrible appearance of some of the bodies is unbearable for a normal person,” he explained, referring to victims who were “gutted” or whose bodies were riddled with bullets.

According to police, the young man attempted suicide in April 2019 and received medical attention — Photo: Highland Park Police/Reproduction/ND

knives

Covelli said the shooter was born in Highwood, a small town nearby, and was identified through CCTV footage and tracking of weapons he legally acquired. He was arrested on Monday and has yet to reveal a motive for the attack.

According to police, in April 2019, the young man tried to commit suicide, after which he was provided with medical assistance.

In September 2019, some agents went to the suspect’s home after being warned that he was threatening to “kill everyone”.

At the time, police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but Crimo was not arrested because no one was pressing charges, Cavelli explained.

The local Chicago Tribune reported that in a video released eight months ago, a young man believed to be Robert Crimo appears in a bedroom and classroom with posters showing the shooter shooting people. And an audio recording of the comment: “I have to do this”, “This is my destiny. Everything leads me to this. Nothing can stop me, not even me.”

Images posted on Twitter of the suspect show him with a flag in support of former Republican President Donald Trump on his back.

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rothering told NBC she met the young man when he was a Boy Scout and that the weapons used in the massacre were legally purchased.

Sadness

“Here we need to reflect and ask what happened: how could someone be filled with such anger and hatred to attack innocent people who spent the day with their families?” commented Rothering.

A drama that plunged the city into “an incredible wave of sadness and confusion.” “Everyone knows someone who was directly affected” by the tragedy, the mayor added.

Paul Crimo, the uncle of the suspect, told CNN on Tuesday he saw “no sign” that his nephew would do something similar.

When the July 4th massacre took place, the country was still reeling from the unrest caused by other recent shootings, including the Uvalde, Texas school shooting that killed 21 people, including 19 children, on May 24th.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered flags to be flown at half-mast in public buildings. He recently won a political victory by voting in Congress for a law regulating gun sales in the United States.

More than 22,400 people have died from gunshot wounds this year, including suicide, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.