Highland Park death toll rises as 7th victim dies: police
Flag hangs at half-mast as Highland Park Police Chief Louis Jogmen and Mayor Nancy Rotering look on while Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli, of the Lake County sheriff�s office and the Lake County major crimes task force, speaks to the media during a news conference outside the Highland Park Police Department, one day after a gunman killed six people and wounded dozens more by firing a high-powered rifle from a rooftop onto a crowd attending Highland Park�s Fourth of July parade, Tuesday morning, July 5, 2022.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
A seventh person has died from injuries sustained during the Highland Park Fourth of July parade mass shooting, officials said Tuesday, as more details of the case emerged.
A total of 45 people were injured or killed in the mass shooting Monday, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Chris Covelli said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. Charges against alleged gunman Robert “Bobby” Crimo III are expected to be announced Tuesday evening near the shooting scene.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek announced the names of the six victims who died at the scene or at Lake County hospitals: Katherine Goldstein, 64, Irina McCarthy, 35, Kevin McCarthy, 37, Jacqueline Sundheim, 63, Stephen Straus, 88, all of Highland Park, and Nicolas Toledo, 78, of Morelos, Mexico.
A seventh victim died Tuesday at a hospital in Cook County, Banek said. The Cook County medical examiner did not immediately return a call from the Chicago Sun-Times.
Crimo fired more than 70 rounds from a rooftop into the parade before blending into the chaotic crowd and escaping the scene wearing women’s clothing, police said Tuesday. Covelli said investigators were seeking a female witness who may have seen Crimo dropping a red blanket in an alley, and urged the woman to contact authorities. Covelli later said that the blanket held the high-powered rifle used in the shooting.
Crimo, 21, exited the roof of a downtown business by using a fire escape ladder, dropped his AR-15-style rifle and walked to the nearby home of his mother, Covelli said.
Crimo borrowed his mother’s car, which was later pulled over by police Monday night in Lake Forest after a brief chase. Crimo had driven as far as the Madison, Wis., area, Covelli said.
There’s no indication Crimo told his mother anything about the attack, Covelli said. Police had visited Crimo’s home twice in 2019, Covelli said. In April 2019, police went to the house in response to a “delayed notification” of a suicide attempt a week earlier by Crimo. In September, police were called by a family member after Crimo “threatened to kill everybody,” and police were warned that Crimo had a large collection of knives. Police removed 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, Covelli said, and notified the State Police of the incident.
ISP spokeswoman Master Sgt. Delilah Garcia said that at the time, Crimo did not have a firearm owner’s identification card or a pending application for one. Covelli said that Crimo had purchased as many as five weapons, including the AR-15-style rifle that was allegedly used in the attack, legally from dealers in the Chicago area in 2020 or 2021.
Crimo is talking to investigators, Covelli said.
“At this point, we have not developed a motive for him,” Covelli said.
Police say this is Robert “Bobby” Crimo III wearing women’s clothing.
Lake County Major Crime Task Force
Investigators “have been in discussions with him. ... I’m not going to go into what he may or may not have said,” Covelli said.
“There are no indications there was anyone else involved in this attack,” Covelli said. “By all indications, it appears Crimo was acting by himself.”
Covelli, when asked if Crimo was targeting Highland Park’s Jewish population, said the attack appears to be random and investigators have found no indication he was targeting a specific group.
The weapon used in the attack was purchased legally in the Chicago area, he said. ATF agents ran an expedited trace on the weapon, which led them to Crimo, Covelli said.
When he was arrested, Crimo had a second high-powered rifle that he purchased legally from a different Chicago-area store, Covelli said.
“We do believe Crimo preplanned this attack for several weeks,” he said.
Covelli said police had previous contact with Crimo, but he wouldn’t offer details.
“There have been some law enforcement contacts, nothing of a violent nature, I can’t get into the specifics of the context,” he said.
Other pistols that were legally purchased by Crimo were also recovered by police at the Highwood home where he lived, Covelli said, noting that authorities are working on criminal charges.
“Investigators are still developing leads and very critical information, once we’re at a point where we’re ready to review all that information for charges, we’ll sit down with the state’s attorney and review for criminal charges,” Covelli said.
Police were not aware before the shooting of disturbing videos that appear to have been posted by Crimo online, Covelli said.