Man arrested for 4th of July shooting in Illinois disguised himself as a woman and fired more than 70 times into the crowd
The suspect in the Chicago shooting during the US Independence Day celebration has been charged with seven counts of murder , for which he faces life in prison without parole if ultimately convicted.
The state attorney for the US Lake County –in Illinois–, Eric Rinehart, has announced that he will ask the judge in charge of the case to arrest suspect Robert E. Crimo ” while the investigation continues ,” according to the ABC network.
” I want to emphasize that there will be more charges. We anticipate dozens of more charges focusing on each of the victims: victims with psychological damage (and) victims with physical injuries,” Rinehart added in statements to the media.
“We will seek the maximum sentence against this criminal. Not because we seek revenge, but because Justice and the healing process demand it,” added the Lake County State Attorney.
Police in Lake County, Illinois , raised the death toll to seven late Tuesday after Monday’s shooting in Highland Park.
The mayor of Highland Park, Nancy Rotering, has been the one who has confirmed a seventh victim of the shooting, which has left a total of 39 people injured distributed throughout the health centers in the area , according to the US network NCT.
For his part, the deputy chief of the Lake Sheriff’s Office, Christopher Covelli, has offered statements to the media in which he has reported some details of the ongoing investigations , although he has stressed that the information is “preliminary “.
“Based on where we are, at this point in the investigation we believe that Crimo pre-planned this attack for several weeks ,” Covelli explained regarding the alleged perpetrator of the shooting in Highland Park during the July 4 parade, day in which the United States celebrates Independence Day.
The Deputy Chief of Police has also detailed that, for the moment, the reasons that prompted Crimo to open fire are unknown, and that there is no information to determine if it is a racist attack, for religious reasons or other reasons.
Likewise, Covelli has reported that “there are no indications that there is someone else involved in this attack”, with which “all indications” suggest that Crimo would have acted alone.
Crimo is still in custody while investigators and employees of the State Attorney’s Office review the information as part of the investigation of the event.
According to the WBBM station, just ten minutes after the start of the parade , up to 20 detonations of firearms were heard , although this Tuesday the authorities have raised the number of rounds fired into the crowd to up to 70. Upon arrival, officers confirmed multiple casualties in a location that a witness said “looked like a war zone.”
He disguised himself as a woman
The deputy director of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department also specified that Crimo is 21 years old, and not 22 as had been stated the day before, and that his motivations are unknown at the moment.
“We believe he planned this attack for weeks. He brought a high-powered rifle to the parade, climbed onto the roof of a store via the fire escape, and began opening fire on innocent people attending the Independence Day celebration.” Covelli said at a news conference.
It added that the suspect, who acted alone, dressed as a woman to hide his facial tattoos and his identity. The authorities have interviewed witnesses and survivors of the event and have reviewed video recordings made with mobile phones.