The New York Post reports that the gunman who killed 7 and wounded more than 40 at a Fourth of July parade celebration in Highland Park, Illinois, has confessed and “seriously contemplated” coordinating another mass shooting later that day.
Previously, RTM reported that authorities believe the Fourth of July massacre was carried out by one person — Robert E. “Bobby” Crimo III, 21.
Crimo reportedly had prestaged a rooftop position, indiscriminately fired approximately 70 rounds into the crowd and disguised himself as a woman in an attempt to blend into the crowd to make his escape.
After the shooting, the accused then drove his mother’s car toward Madison, Wisconsin. Reportedly, Crimo changed his plans and returned to Illinois when he concluded he wasn’t prepared to coordinate a second mass shooting.
He was apprehended by the FBI in Illinois, approximately five miles away from the site of the massacre.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said:
“While [Crimo] was driving [after the shooting] … he located this celebration occurring in the Madison area, he contemplated another attack with a firearm he had in his car.”
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Reinhart reportedly said that Crimo confessed to police that he climbed onto the roof of a business in the wealthy Chicago suburb, Highland Park, and was responsible for the shooting.
Police recovered a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semiautomatic rifle at the scene
The New York Post reported that officers found a second rifle (Kel Tec Sub-200) in Crimo’s car after he was arrested. The outlet also reported that three other firearms — Remington 700, shotgun and a Glock 43 — were found at Crimo’s home.
Authorities have not yet commented on a possible motive, but have acknowledged that Crimo “had an affinity for the numbers 4 and 7 — which, when reversed, point to the date he carried out the massacre,” according to the Post report.
At Wednesday’s initial (virtual) hearing, an Illinois judge ordered Crimo to be held without bail.
If convicted on murder charges, Crimo faces a mandatory life prison sentence without the possibility of parole.
Reinhart noted that it is very early in the process and indicated he has not ruled out filing additional charges against Crimo.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
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