Robert E. “Bobby” Crimo III, accused of carrying out the rooftop massacre at Highland Park’s Independence Day parade, is set to make his first appearance in Lake County Circuit Court Wednesday.
Crimo, 21, who grew up in the normally tranquil Chicago suburb, is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in what Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart called a “premeditated and calculated attack.” Rinehart said he anticipates dozens more charges as the investigation continues.
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Crimo’s attorney Thomas Durkin declined to comment Tuesday, citing the early stage in the proceedings and noting that he has had limited contact with his client.
Crimo planned the parade attack for weeks, police and prosecutors allege, then climbed a fire escape ladder to the roof of a building and fired a high-powered rifle he had purchased legally as Monday’s parade was in full swing. He dressed as a woman to evade detection, according to Chris Covelli, a spokesman with the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
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Crimo was apprehended late Monday afternoon following an hourslong search involving more than 100 law enforcement agencies.
[ What we know about the mass shooting at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade ]
Victims of the shooting rampage include Highland Park couple Irina and Kevin McCarthy, whose 2-year-old son Aiden was found wandering alone amid the chaos; Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn “Jacki” Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88, all of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico.
The seventh victim has yet to be identified. About two dozen people were injured during the attack.
