Robert Crimo III was charged on 117 felony charges by a Lake County grand jury on Wednesday for the Highland Park mass shooting on July 4 that left seven people dead and numerous others injured. For the shootings, Crimo, 21, was previously charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. The indictments, which were made public on Wednesday, include a total of 21 counts of first-degree murder, three for each of the seven fatalities.
Additionally, the panel charged Crimo with 48 counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery for every victim shot as crowds gathered in downtown Highland Park for the Fourth of July parade. State’s Attorney for Lake County Eric Rinehart reported on Wednesday that grand jurors returned indictments on each count that the prosecution requested.
In a statement made public along with the news of the indictments, Rinehart stated, “I want to thank law enforcement and the prosecutors who presented evidence to the grand jury today. Our investigation is ongoing, and our victim specialists are working around the clock to assist everyone impacted by the crime that resulted in the filing of 117 felony counts today.
Today a shooter struck in Highland Park during the Independence Day parade. My campaign team and I were gathering at the start of the parade when the shooting started. My team and I are safe and secure. We are monitoring the situation closely and in touch with the Mayor.
— Brad Schneider (@Schneider4IL10) July 4, 2022
Rinehart stated that his office intended to file hundreds of additional counts in the days following Crimo’s arrest and the filing of the initial murder charges. Crimo is being held without the chance of a bond in the Lake County jail. Crime will be warned at his arraignment, which is set for next week, that he could get a sentence of natural life in prison under Illinois law if he were found guilty of murder in the deaths of multiple people.
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Authorities will seek further sentencing increases for offenses involving firearms, according to the indictments. The 48 counts of attempted murder have sentences of 26 to 50 years, and the 48 counts of aggravated battery with a handgun bring punishments of 6 to 30 years. An alleged attack’s motivation was not revealed by the indictments.
The incident took place on the fourth day of the seventh month because of Crimo’s obsession with the numbers four and seven, according to the authorities. However, police have not revealed what may have inspired the attack. By way of a spokesman, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering declined to comment on the indictments on Wednesday, stating that the city’s legal counsel had advised against city officials directly discussing the legal case against Crimo.
The mayor of Highland Park, who has visited the White House twice since the shooting, again called for a federal assault weapons ban at the city council meeting on Monday, which was the first held since the shooting. At the meeting, Rotering stated that “nothing has changed” and that “we need help from all levels of government.” “We must explore all possibilities. Right now, we must keep trying to save lives.
Crimo was supposed to show up for a preliminary hearing in Lake County Court on Thursday. The new date for that appearance is Aug. 3, when it is anticipated that he will be formally charged. Authorities said that Crimo, a resident of Highland Park, scaled a business structure and opened fire on the gathering along the parade route with an assault weapon more than 80 times before fleeing among the commotion. According to police, Crimo pretended to be a lady, dropped the assault rifle, and then ran away.
Later that day, a police officer saw him driving in North Chicago and stopped him. He was then brought into custody. Police reportedly claimed that Crimo travelled to the Madison, Wisconsin, region shortly after the shooting and thought about carrying out another attack after coming upon a crowd. Tuesday, Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti issued an order to keep all records of the investigation and legal proceedings confidential.
The ruling restricts disclosure of those materials by prosecutors and defence lawyers other than for the purpose of building their cases. The public court record is not included in this list of resources, which also includes audio recordings, pictures, police reports, and videos from surveillance and arrests.
