Highland Park Shooting: Suspect Arrested After Opening Fire On Independence Day Parade, Killing 6

Keneci Channel

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[Update] Highland Park Parade Shooter Fled Scene Disguised In Women Clothing After His "Pre-planned" Attack, Police Says

Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli made the revelations at a press conference Tuesday, while giving update on the investigation of the attack which resulted in the death of at least 7 people and dozens injured.

“During the attack, Crimo was dressed in women’s clothing and investigators do believe he did this to conceal his facial tattoos and his identity and help him during the escape with the other people who were fleeing the chaos," Covelli said.

Crimo III dropped his weapon after the shooting and fled the scene with the rest of the panicked parade-goers, blending right in almost as if he was an innocent spectator. He then went to his mother’s house and borrowed her vehicle before later being found and taken into custody, according to Covelli.

The 21-year-old shooter “pre-planned this attack for several weeks.” He legally purchased a “high-powered rifle” and brought it to the independence day parade. He then accessed the roof of a business through a fire escape ladder, and fired more than 70 rounds into the crowds below, killing 6 and wounding dozens more, Covelli said.

Police found another rifle inside Crimo III's vehicle, and recovered several more firearms at a home he was living in, in Highwood, which police believe he also purchased legally.

Paul Crimo, the shooter's uncle told Fox 32’s Dane Placko on Monday, he saw “no warning signs” from his nephew before Monday's shooting. He saw his 21-year-old nephew on Sunday evening and only exchanged a hello and goodbye.

Paul described his nephew as a “quiet kid” and said, though the two lived together, they seldom interacted.

“I’m not really involved with him," Paul said. "We’d just say hi and bye and that’s it,” adding later that his nephew would sometimes help him around the house. He said his nephew occupied his own apartment in the back of the house.

If there were signs of trouble, the uncle insisted, he would have said something about it. “There were no signs of trouble. I saw no signs of trouble and if I did see signs, I would have said something.”

Paul said he was not sure where his nephew obtained the rifle he used in the shooting.

Police say that in 2019, they were called to the Highland Park shooter’s home where they removed daggers and a sword after receiving a call from a family member. Crimo III reportedly told family members he was going to "kill everyone."  Officers did not have any probable cause to make an arrest at that time. The 22-year-old also once threatened to commit suicide, police said.

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The shooter opened fire on an independence day parade at the intersection of Central Avenue and 2nd Street in Highland Park, Illinois, around 10:24 a.m. local time Monday, according to authorities. The gunman accessed a roof of a business possibly via a ladder in an alley attached to the building and started shooting near the last leg of the parade route.

The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day for the annual celebration. The gunshots sent hundreds of parade-goers running for their lives. Some eyewitnesses said they initially thought the shots were coming from a naval parade.

According to authorities, the suspect had at least four firearms, including an AR-15, a bolt action rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol. The AR-15 has reportedly been recovered.

Six people died and at least 61 were injured in the shooting, with victims ranging in age from 8 to 85 years. Chris Covelli, spokesman for the Lake County Crimes Task Force, said several of the victims -- all adults -- died at the scene and at least one died after being transported to a hospital. The other injured victims were transported to Lake and Cook County Hospitals and their conditions ranged from "serious" to "critical." At least one of those critically injured was a child, authorities said.

Nicholas Toledo and Jacki Sundheim, were among the first victims identified.

According to his family, Toledo, a Mexican native in his 70s, expressed earlier in the morning that he no longer wished to attend the festival as he was concerned about his health.

He did; however, go and his granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, 23, told the Chicago Sun-Times that he was the reason the rest of the family survived. "He was the one who saved all of our lives. It would have gone to me, my boyfriend or my cousins," she said.

Toledo was a proud father and grandfather who enjoyed fishing, the New York Post reported. He was at the festival with about a dozen of his family members.

Sundheim, a devout Jewish synagogue attendee, was identified by the North Shore Congregation Israel where she attended.

"It is with immeasurable sadness that we let you know that our beloved Jacki Sundheim was one of the victims murdered today at the Highland Park Parade," the synagogue said in a statement.

Sundheim is survived by her husband, Bruce, and daughter, Leah, the Times of Israel reported.

The suspect Robert Crimo III, 22, -- a self-described liberal -- fled the scene but was later arrested by police after a brief car chase, according to Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen. A North Chicago police officer spotted the vehicle authorities alerted earlier in the day they believed might be driven by Crimo while he was on the run, Jogmen said. The officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Crimo fled before he was stopped in Lake Forest. He was expected to be questioned about his alleged role in the mass shooting, the chief said.

Crimo, -- also known as 'Awake the Rapper,' a "six foot Hip hop phenom" born on Sept. 20, 2000, according to a bio on IMDB -- is apparently a fan of the  violent far-left extremist group 'antifa.'

The rapper released a cryptic track called Are You Awake on Oct. 15, 2021. The video includes drawings of a man aiming a rifle at another person. It also includes an image of a newspaper clipping about Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated President John F. Kennedy, and another image of a victim shot with blood spraying from the body.

Lyrics of Crimo's Are You Awake track reads in part:

Like a sleepwalker, I am unable to stop and think,

My actions will be valiant and my thought is unnecessary. I know what I have to do, I know what's in it, not only for me, but for everyone else.

There is no past or future, just the now

It is more abstract than I can ever imagine. I can feel the atmosphere pushing me in. It's unstoppable, like a wave pulling me under, I can't breathe without it.

I need to leave now, I need to just do it. It is my destiny, everything has led up to this

Nothing can stop me, not even myself. Is there such thing as free will, or has this been planned out, like a cosmic recipe?

Crimo began uploading his music to the internet at age 11, but first gained traction with his 2016 track "By The Pond" featuring Atlas, according to IMDB. His estimated net worth is "$100 thousand."

Crimo is the son of Bob Crimo, president at Bob's Pantry & Deli in Highland Park. According to his Facebook account, the father ran for Highland Park mayor in 2020.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill hosted a Fourth of July BBQ at the White House. "I want to welcome you all to the White House and I can’t tell you how happy we are you’re able to be here. And what a day to celebrate and celebrate with all of you," the president said. "One serious note. You know, the there was a shooting in Highland Park, Chicago. Six people have passed and others are wounded. But we got a lot more work to do. We got to get this under control."

"But having said that I just want you to keep this slight moment of silence for all those families [affected by the shooting]," Biden concluded.

As the news of the shooting broke, many left-wing politicians and talking heads took to social media -- in what has become a ritual for them after every shooting -- to blame all their problems on 'guns!' Never mind that someone has to pull the trigger.

Illinois has some of the strictest gun laws in the United States, just like many Democrat-run states and cities. Yet violent gun crime rates remain high in these areas.