A “person of interest,” Robert Crimo III, 22, has been detained by police in relation to a rooftop sniper shooting in Highland Park, Illinois on July 4. At least six people were killed and many wounded in a morning shooting at a July 4th parade, in a suburb about 25 miles north of Chicago.
Nineteen of the 25 gunshot victims were treated and have been discharged from the hospital.
Spectators fled the parade gathering when gunshots were heard. The shots were mistaken for fireworks by some. The scene was horrific, with one witness saying there was “blood everywhere,” and “it looked like a battle zone.”
Police closed down the downtown area and multiple law enforcement agencies began looking for the suspect, who was apprehended later that day.
Robert Crimo III, 22, was captured near Lake Forest, Illinois, after a brief chase when a police officer tried to detain him at a traffic stop. Investigators were able to trace the purchase of the rifle left on the rooftop, and were then led to examine social media posted by the alleged shooter.
Many of Crimo’s online postings “reflected a plan and a desire to commit carnage for a long time in advance,” Mayor Rotering said in an interview with NBC’s Hoda Kotb on “Today.”
The weapon used by the shooter was found to be legally purchased.
The toll in this wealthy, liberal Chicago suburb is six people dead and two dozen wounded. Add the victim toll from the mall, school and church mass shootings that seem to be almost a daily occurrence. The toll includes the realization that no city or town is immune to the gun violence rocking the country.