LAKE COUNTY, Ill. — The gunman accused of slaughtering seven people and injuring dozens more in the Highland Park Fourth of July parade mass shooting was eerily calm as a judge ordered him held without bond Wednesday.
Robert E. “Bobby” Crimo III, 21, stared blankly ahead as he appeared virtually from the Lake County jail for his initial court appearance on seven counts of first-degree murder.
The suspect didn’t react when the names of the seven victims he allegedly gunned down were read out in court by the prosecutor.
Local lawyer Tom Durkin told the judge at the hearing that he was “hired by the family” to rep Crimo — but said he had to bow out of the case because he learned “late last night … through some family members that had come back from out of town” that he had a “personal conflict of interest.” It wasn’t clear what the conflict involved.
It appeared that a public defender would rep Crimo, at least for now. A lawyer with the public defender’s office told the judge that he wouldn’t argue against Crimo being held without bail at the moment because the suspect has no money to post it anyway.
Crimo climbed onto the roof of a business in the wealthy Chicago suburb Monday and fired more than 80 rounds from his legally purchased Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle — stopping twice to reload, prosecutors alleged.
Crimo, who allegedly planned the attack for weeks, wore women’s clothing so he could blend in with the fleeing crowd as he made his escape, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon told the court.
“The defendant relayed to investigators that he dressed up like a girl and covered his tattoos with makeup because people recognize him,” Dillon said.
Robert E. “Bobby” Crimo III, 21, was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder over Monday’s mass shooting in Highland Park. AP
Crimo allegedly climbed onto the roof of a Highland Park business and fired 83 rounds at the panicked crowd below, killing seven and injuring dozens of others. Getty Images“The defendant acknowledged that he used the stairway to get to the rooftop, then relayed to investigators that he looked down … aimed and opened fire at people across the street.
“Defendant told investigators that he fired the full 30-round magazine, dropped it and popped in another 30-round magazine, firing it until putting in a third magazine and continuing to fire.”
Investigators later recovered the “three 30-rifle-round magazines and 83 spent shell casings” on the roof of the business.
As Crimo fled the scene, his rifle, wrapped in a red blanket, fell out of his bag in an alley, prosecutors said. Authorities used the serial number on that rifle to identify Crimo as the suspect and put out an alert on him.
Crimo remained on the loose for hours after “borrowing” his mother’s car and driving back and forth to Wisconsin, but was eventually nabbed about 5 miles from the shooting scene, authorities said.
Crimo wore women’s clothing so he could blend in with the fleeing crowd to aid his escape, authorities said. via REUTERS
Crimo was nabbed by police Monday night — hours after the shooting — after a bystander spotted his vehicle and alerted 911.
The mass shooting happened fewer than three years after police were called to Crimo’s home in September 2019 following reports he was threating to “kill everyone” there, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said.
Police ended up confiscating 16 knives, a dagger and a sword in that incident, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time.
Authorities had also visited his home in April 2019 after receiving a report Crimo had attempted suicide.
Despite his two troubling encounters with law enforcement, Crimo was then still able to legally buy firearms — including the AR-15-style rifle he allegedly used in the Independence Day attack.
If convicted on the charges, Crimo would face a mandatory life prison sentence without the possibility of parole, according to Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Reinhart.
