Highland Park parade shooting was planned for weeks; gunman dressed like a woman during the rampage, police say
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HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — The man held by police in connection with the mass shooting at a July Fourth parade planned the attack for weeks — and dressed like a woman to avoid detection, authorities said Tuesday.
The death toll from Monday morning’s assault rose to seven, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesperson Chris Covelli said on Tuesday, though adding: “No additional details yet.”
Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III, 21, who was picked up by police hours after the rampage, scaled a fire escape ladder to make himself a sniper’s nest to fire on paradegoers below on Monday, authorities said.
“But we do believe Crimo preplanned this attack for several weeks,” Covelli told reporters Tuesday.
Covelli also revealed that Crimo dressed in women’s clothes during the rampage, which injured dozens more during the celebration in the wealthy Chicago suburb. Authorities didn’t immediately detail the attire Crimo allegedly wore Monday, or if he wore a wig.
An image of Crimo, obtained by NBC Chicago from a senior law enforcement official, appeared to show the young man in a blue-and-white blouse and with longer hair.
Robert Crimo III dressed in the women’s clothing police say he wore as a disguise during the shooting.Obtained by NBC Chicago
“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,” Covelli said.
That plan seemed to work initially, as Crimo allegedly walked undetected to his mother’s home, borrowed her car and drove out of town.
“Following the attack, Crimo exited the roof, dropped his rifle and he blended in with the crowd and he escaped,” Covelli said.
“He blended right in with everybody else as they were running around almost as he was an innocent spectator as well.”
Investigators managed to piece together Crimo’s movements based largely on video footage taken Monday in downtown Highland Park.
“He was seen on video camera in the women’s clothes. Video camera played a tremendous role in how we were able to identify him both leading initially and as he left,” Covelli said.
Law enforcement officers investigate the scene Monday in Highland Park, Ill. Tannen Maury / EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The sniper fired more than 70 rounds from his rooftop perch, randomly picking off victims below, according to officials.
Covelli said there was no immediate evidence that the shooter was aiming for victims based on race or religion.
Highland Park is known as a heavily Jewish suburb, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. Both news agencies noted that some estimates put the area’s Jewish population at about a third of its total estimated population of 30,100.
“At this point, we have not developed a motive for him,” Covelli said.
“The shooting appears to be completely random. We have no information to suggest at this point it was racially motivated, motivated by religion or (hatred of) any other protected status.”
The weapon was legally purchased in Illinois, officials said. Covelli described it as being “similar to an AR-15.”
“He brought a high-powered rifle to this parade, he accessed the roof of a business via fire escape ladder and began opening fire on the innocent Independence Day celebrationgoers,” Covelli said.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering on Tuesday also revealed she knew Crimo when he was in the Cub Scouts years ago.
She told NBC’s “TODAY” show that she’s still stunned how anyone could unleash such violence.
“I know him as somebody who was a Cub Scout when I was the Cub Scout leader,” she said.
“And it’s one of those things where you step back and you say, ‘What happened? How did somebody become this angry? This hateful to then take it out on innocent people who, literally, were just having a family day out?’”
Asked about her memories of Crimo, the mayor succinctly responded: “He was just a little boy.”
In other developments stemming from Monday’s mass shooting:
This is a developing story. Please refresh here for updates.
Antonio Planas and Phil Rogers reported from Highland Park, Illinois; Marlene Lenthang and David K. Li from New York City; and Ava Kelley from Chicago.
Antonio Planas
Marlene Lenthang and Ava Kelley contributed.