The uncle of suspected Highland Park mass shooter Robert Crimo III is apologizing for the July Fourth massacre, saying he’s “deeply, deeply sorry” for the deadly attack.
Paul Crimo said he lived with his accused killer nephew and the 21-year-old’s father, with the young man staying in a separate apartment in the back of the local home.
“I just want to say I’m deeply, deeply sorry for everyone that lost their lives and got injured,” Paul Crimo told WFLD-TV late Monday, after his nephew was named as a person of interest in the bloodshed earlier in the day at an Independence Day parade in the wealthy Chicago suburb.
“From the bottom of my heart, I’m heartbroken, and my heart is shattered to hear this. I can’t even believe it,” he said.
Authorities have said they believe that Crimo III used a high-powered AR-15-style rifle to shoot into the crowd from a rooftop, killing seven innocent people and injuring more than 30.
Paul Crimo said he and his brother, Robert Crimo Jr., who unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Highland Park in 2019, are well-known throughout the area.
“We have a good character,” Paul Crimo said of the pair. “Everybody loves us, and this just breaks my heart to hear about all of this.”
Paul Crimo told CNN and WFLD that he saw no warning signs ahead of the mass shooting. He told the station that he last saw his nephew late Sunday.
“When I went home, I said, ‘Hi’ to him, and then when I came back downstairs, I said, ‘Bye,’ he said, ‘Bye,’ and that was it,” Crimo said. “I’ve seen nothing that would trigger him doing this.”
The suspected gunman, who authorities said legally purchased the gun used in the attack in Illinois within the past year, had never said anything concerning, Paul Crimo said.
“He has helped me around the house at times,” Paul Crimo said. “And there were no signs of trouble. I saw no signs of trouble. And if I did see signs, I would’ve said something. But there was no signs of trouble.”
This is an excerpt from the New York Post.
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