The suspected gunman spent weeks planning a mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Ill., and dressed as a woman to avoid being identified, police said Tuesday.
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) β A prosecutor in suburban Chicago said Tuesday that the gunman accused of attacking an Independence Day parade has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.
Lake County Stateβs Attorney Eric Rinehart promised that dozens more charges would be sought. He added that the suspect, if convicted of murder, would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
The gunman who attacked an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, killing at least seven people, legally bought two high-powered rifles and three other weapons despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 after he threatened suicide and violence, police said Tuesday.
A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force told a news conference that the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a high-powered rifle βsimilar to an AR-15" to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore.
Police said they were called to the suspect's home in September 2019 after a family member called to say he was threatening βto kill everyoneβ there. Task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time.
The suspect legally purchased the rifle used in the attack in Illinois within the past year, Covelli said. In all, police said, he purchased five firearms, which were recovered by officers at his fatherβs home.
Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by the suspect, Covelli said.
It was not clear whether Crimoβs past contacts with police would have barred him from obtaining an Illinois gun owner's license. State police, who issue the licenses, did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press inquiring about his eligibility.
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