Highland Park parade shooting suspect confessed and "seriously contemplated" a second attack, officials say
The man charged with killing seven people at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, traveled to Wisconsin after the shooting and "seriously contemplated" another attack, police said Wednesday. Authorities also said 21-year-old Robert "Bobby" Crimo III has admitted to the killings and "went into details about what he had done" in an interview with investigators.
Lake County Major Crime Task Force Deputy Chief Chris Covelli told reporters on Wednesday that after Crimo left the shooting scene in Illinois, he traveled to Madison, where he saw another holiday celebration taking place.
"He seriously contemplated using the firearm he had in his vehicle to commit another shooting," Covelli said.
"We don't have information to suggest he planned on driving to Madison initially to commit another attack," Covelli added. "We do believe that he was driving around following the first attack and saw the celebration."
Covelli said it's not yet clear why the suspect didn't carry out another attack, but said "indications are that he hadn't put enough thought and research into it." Authorities have said they believe Crimo planned the attack in Highland Park for weeks.
Covelli said it's also not clear why Crimo left Madison to return to Illinois, where he was eventually apprehended after a police officer pulled him over in his mother's car. He said Crimo left his phone in Madison, and that the device has since been recovered.
Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said Crimo will be held without bond. He also said investigators told the judge at Wednesday's bond hearing that he fired one full clip of 30 rounds, reloaded, continued firing, and reloaded a third time.
Crimo was charged on Tuesday with seven counts of first degree murder. If convicted, he would face a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, Rinehart said when announcing the charges.
Rinehart said he expected "many, many" more charges to be filed, including an attempted murder charge and an aggravated battery with a firearm charge for everyone who was hurt in the shooting. He said those charges are expected in late July.
Police said Tuesday that at least 45 people were injured or killed during the shooting. Authorities have identified the seven deceased victims as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Kevin McCarthy, 37; Irina McCarthy, 35; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69.
Jordan Freiman and Alex Sundby contributed reporting.