Officials said the man accused of killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he fired bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, where he Thought of shooting a program. Wednesday.
Christopher Cowelly, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, said at a news conference after a 21-year trial that the suspect returned to Illinois, where he was later arrested, after deciding that he would commit another attack in Wisconsin. was not ready. The old man was deprived of bondage.
The shooting of the parade shook another American community—this time in affluent Highland Park, home to nearly 30,000 people near Lake Michigan. More than two dozen people were injured, some seriously injured, and hundreds of marchers, parents and children fled in panic.
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Coveli said it did not appear that the suspect had planned another attack in Wisconsin, but fled, witnessed another Independence Day celebration and “seriously considered” it. According to Coveli, the attacker had left the semi-automatic rifle used in Illinois, but he had another, similar rifle and about 60 more rounds with him.
Police later found his phone in Middleton, Wisconsin, about 135 miles (217 kilometers) from Highland Park.
Hours before his arrest, police had warned that the gunman was still on the run and should be considered armed and dangerous. Several nearby cities canceled events including parades and fireworks. Most of the festivities went ahead in and around the Wisconsin capital.
Madison Police Chief Sean Barnes said in a news conference Wednesday that the FBI on Monday evening urged the department to prepare its SWAT team because investigators believed the gunman may have been in the area. Barnes said he had not been warned at the time that the shooter was considering further attacks.
Ben Dillon, Assistant State Attorney for Lake County, told court that the gunman climbed up to escape a building fire above Highland Park Parade, “looked down his sights, targeted” and fired at people in the street. He left 83 rounds of bullets and three ammunition magazines on the roof. According to the police, he initially escaped capture by disguising himself as a woman and joining the fleeing mob.
Koveli said some of the injured were in critical condition and the death toll could still rise. Already, shooting deaths have left a 2-year-old boy without parents, families mourning the loss of beloved grandparents and a synagogue mourning the death of a congregation that spent decades Worked on employees too.
Lake County State Attorney Eric Rinehart said he planned to bring attempted murder and increased battery charges for each of the wounded.
“Many, many more allegations are to come,” he told a news conference, anticipating that those allegations would be announced later this month.
If convicted of first-degree murder charges, the gunman would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
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Suspect Robert Cremo III was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt as he appeared in court by video. As the prosecutor described the shooting, he said little other than to tell the judge that he did not have a lawyer.
On Tuesday, a prominent Chicago attorney, Thomas A. Durkin said he would represent Cremo and that he intended to plead not guilty to all charges. But Durkin told the court on Wednesday that he had a conflict of interest with the case. Cremo has been appointed as the public defender.
Rinehart also left open the possibility of accusing Cremo’s parents, telling reporters he “doesn’t want to answer” that question as the investigation continues.
Steve Greenberg, an attorney for Cremo’s parents, told The Associated Press that the parents are not concerned about being accused of anything related to their son’s case.
Questions also arose about how the suspect used Illinois’ relatively strict gun laws to legally purchase five weapons, despite having twice called officers to his home for threats of violence and suicide in 2019 The high powered rifle used in
Police went home after a call from a family member, who said Cremo was threatening to “kill everyone” there. Koveli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but added that he did not have any guns at the time in September 2019. Police also responded to an alleged suicide attempt by Cremo in April 2019, Kovelli said.
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The Illinois State Police, which issues gun owners’ licenses, said Cremo applied for the license in December 2019, when he was 19 years old. Her father sponsored her application, and she bought the semi-automatic rifles in 2020, according to Kovelli.
In all, he bought five firearms, which the authorities recovered from his father’s house, police said. He bought four guns under the age of 21 and a fifth after his birthday last year.
Revelations about his gun purchases offered the latest example of young men who were able to obtain guns and commit genocide in recent months despite warning signs about their mental health and propensity for violence.
The state police, in a statement, said the state police had defended how the application was handled “there was insufficient ground to establish a clear and present danger” at the time and denies the application.
Coveli said investigators who have questioned the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined any motive or found any indication that he has classified victims on the basis of race, religion or other protected status. Targeted.
In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association immediately challenged the liberal suburb’s stance. The legal battle ended at the doors of the US Supreme Court in 2015 when judges refused to hear the case and allowed suburban restrictions to remain in place.
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Asked whether Cremo’s case demonstrates loopholes in state law, Rinehart said that “the difference between state gun laws would be that we do not ban assault weapons.”
Under Illinois law, people convicted of a felony, drug addicts or deemed capable of causing harm to themselves or others may be denied purchases of a gun. That last provision would have barred Suicide Crimes from obtaining weapons.
But under the law, to whom this provision applies must be decided by “a court, board, commission or other legal authority”.
The state has a so-called red flag law that is designed to stop dangerous people from being killed before they happen, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or the police to order a seizure of guns from a judge.
Cremo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper named Awake the Rapper, who posted dozens of videos and songs on social media, some ominous and violent.
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