Shooting leaves at least 6 dead at US 4th of July parade: suspect arrested
Steph Deschamps / July 5, 2022
The 22-year-old man, armed with a high-powered rifle, had posted himself on the roof of a business, causing panic before fleeing.
Hundreds of police officers searched for the young man who, armed with a high-powered rifle, had fired on the crowd in this affluent city of 30,000 people, located on the shores of Lake Michigan. The man had posted himself on the roof of a business, creating panic before fleeing.
The police had identified a suspect, Robert – known as Bobby – Crimo, 22 years old and from the region. They had released a photo of a young man with an emaciated face and tattoos.
After a brief car chase, the suspect was taken into custody without incident, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen told reporters Monday night.
The man has several pages on the Internet, where he is presented as a musician from Chicago nicknamed Awake the rapper. The authorities had deployed a huge security device with armored vehicles and federal reinforcements.
According to the initial investigation, the shooter fired from the roof of a business, accessible by a fire escape. He was very discreet and hard to see, Covelli described. He immediately fled, but a high-powered rifle was recovered by police.
Five people, all adults, died at the scene and a sixth after being transferred to hospital. At least 26 injured people, ranging in age from 8 to 85, were treated by rescue workers and some, including at least one child, were in critical condition, according to a hospital official.
The festivities were immediately suspended in several nearby towns, which also closed their beaches and called for the utmost caution.
The tragedy immediately reignited the debate about guns, of which there are nearly 400 million in circulation in the United States. It’s damning that a holiday honoring America would be sabotaged by a uniquely American scourge, commented Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker. The only freedom we deny our citizens is to live without the daily fear of guns.
Saying he was shocked, Democratic President Joe Biden pledged in a statement that he would not give up on the fight against the epidemic of gun violence after the latest bloodshed.
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