Highland Park begins slow healing process after mass shooting

There were hymns of praise as the St. James Church family reflected at a vigil at the church in Highwood Thursday night. The deadly parade shooting hits the St. James Parish harder – as it falls especially close to home.

Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, was a worshiper at the church. The family of Nicolas Toledo, 78, attends the church too. Uvaldo and Toledo were both killed in the massacre, and a third church member underwent surgery, but survived.

Gia Medina knows them all. She said Uvaldo was a longtime friend of her family.

"I was there a half a block away from the situation," Medina said.

Medina was out for the parade with her own family, including her elderly mother.

"She's older, and thank goodness my son was with us, because my son pretty much told us that he dragged her, grabbed her from the hips, and just pushed her and pushed her - because she sort of just froze," Medina said.

A vigil was also held Thursday night at Sunset Woods Park in Highland Park. U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois) was in attendance.

"This is the power of people coming together – to first demand change, and through their efforts, effect change," Schneider said.

Hundreds attended the Sunset Woods Park vigil.

A third vigil was held by Highland Park's Jewish community at the Central Avenue Synagogue.

Mike and Marcia Moran attend the parade every year – but this was the first year their two teenage kids elected to stay home. The Morans were sitting on a park bench when the shots rang out. That scene is still frozen in time for them – and the family is changed forever.

"My mind can't make sense of it," Marcia Moran told CBS 2's Marissa Perlman.

Ms. Moran can't make sense of how she and her husband escaped the Highland Park parade shooting alive. They had been sitting on a bench – with the shooter directly above them – when the shots rang out.

"Within - I don't know - a millisecond, my husband – I think I still have the bruise here - grabbed my really quick and yanked me out of there and started running," she said.

Ms. Moran said her husband, a veteran, recognized the difference between gunshots and fireworks.

"My left foot was covered with blood," Ms. Moran said. "My husband was bleeding really bad from the knee down."

They rushed to their car to get to the emergency room.

"I turned to the left, and I had seen that people had been killed, and I realized they were literally just feet from us," Ms. Moran said.

Their kids missed the parade for the first time in years, but still, this tragedy now leaves a lasting impact on their daughter, Peyton.

"I texted my mom, then I called her, and then she told me that she and my dad were shot," Peyton said. "I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think."

Peyton published a letter to her community. She calls it "the worst day of her life."

"You don't expect it to be your hometown until it is," Peyton said.

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We heard Thursday night from the husband of Katherine Goldstein – one of the seven people killed in the July 4th parade massacre in Highland Park.

Speaking to CNN's Anderson Cooper, Craig Goldstein said his wife died right in front of their daughter Cassie's eyes.

"They were running, and Katie dropped to the ground. Cassie hid behind a garbage can and leaned out, and she said – she said, 'Mom, I love you,' and with that, Katie closed her eyes and she stopped breathing," Craig Goldstein said, "and it's important to my daughter to think that Katie heard her."

Just the other side of the yellow police tape at Central and St. Johns avenues, something pretty special was happening Thursday night Hundreds of people came -- taking a moment, leaving flowers. And they said they are determined not to let the center of town be remembered for the horror that unfolded Monday.

The seven victims who lost their lives Monday are forever memorialized – with cutout photos ringed by white garlands of flowers and laden with tributes.

Arlyn Stern left a stone to pay her respects to her cousin, Jacki Sundheim.

"Living through all this and what my family went through, and my cousins," Stern said.

She described the horror of what happened on Monday.

"They heard all these shots, and then all of a sudden Jacki, slumped over," Stern said.

Sundheim's funeral will be Friday at her temple in Glencoe, where she was dedicated so many years. 

A funeral service is scheduled for Straus on Friday at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston. Shiva follows his service at 4 p.m.

A family spokesman also reports the funeral for Uvaldo, 69, will be held on Saturday.

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Aiden McCarthy's mom and dad, Irina and Kevin McCarthy, were both shot and killed in the massacre at the parade. CBS 2's Jackie Kostek talked over the phone to the woman who found 2-year-old Aiden, and tried so hard to reunite him with his family.

Lauren Silva said she doesn't feel like a hero, and wishes she could have done more. But she says she's grateful that Aiden is physically OK, and that she was there to play a small role in caring for him in an unthinkable moment.

Silva said she was with her boyfriend and her boyfriend's son Monday morning. They weren't going to the parade - they were heading to breakfast, and were still in the stairwell of the parking garage when the shots rang out.

Just after shooting stopped, Lauren Silva, her boyfriend Tom, and his son Morgan made their way out of the parking garage stairwell and onto the parade route. Tom and Morgan first, Lauren followed.

"Morgan said, 'Dad, there's a boy under there,'" Silva said.

It was Aiden, trapped under his father's body.

"He would have suffocated – 100 percent, he would have suffocated," Silva said.

Silva, a mother of two young boys herself, held the boy.

"When I first took him and he kept saying, 'Are my mom and dad OK?' I said, 'Everyone's OK.' "Is my momma and dadda coming back?' I said 'Yes, everyone's fine,'" Silva said. "I had to parent him. I had to tell him it was fine when it wasn't fine."

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An 8-year-old boy named Cooper Roberts was shot in the chest and critically hurt in the Highland Park massacre. Three days later, Cooper is still fighting for his life miles to the south at the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital.

Cooper's spinal cord was severed when he was shot.

We have been tracking Cooper's medical updates since he was life-flighted from Highland Park Hospital on Monday. But we held back details earlier this week out of respect to his family – until we were publicly given the green light to share on Thursday.

Cooper's mother - Dr. Keely Roberts, the superintendent for Zion Elementary School District 6 – was also shot and wounded.

Cooper's twin brother, Luke, was injured by shrapnel.

Cooper himself has had several surgeries, and we are told he is fighting – sedated and on a ventilator, but still considered critical by staff at Comer.

There are concerns he may not walk again.

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The Chicago Botanic Garden is doing its part to try to help people heal in the wake of the Highland Park massacre.

The Botanic Garden is located in Glencoe, just across Lake Cook Road from Highland Park. From now through Sunday, admission and parking are free from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.

No pre-registration is required.

Businesses are struggling to return to normal in downtown Highland Park three days after the massacre. 

The Highland Park Chamber of Commerce just told us that there are about 100 businesses affected by a crime scene perimeter around the site of the massacre. Those businesses are either completely closed for the time being, or finding another way to function while the investigation continues.

One example is Curt's Café, 1766 2nd St. Just because they can't get into their store at Curt's Café doesn't mean they've stopped serving their community.

Curt's has two locations – one in Highland Park, and the other at 2922 Central St. in Evanston. They have temporarily rerouted their operations fully to the Evanston location until they are allowed to reopen the Highland Park location.

Curt's Café serves coffee, pastries, and sandwiches. But its main mission is to help kids living in at-risk situations, and formerly incarcerated young adults, by providing workforce and life skills training. 

The staff at the Highland Park location has not missed a minute of that instruction they receive through Curt's. The café's management said they want to provide as much of a sense of normalcy as possible during an anything-but-normal time. 

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As Highland Park residents continue to move forward, many are asking if the suspect's parents could be liable for the deadly mass shooting on Monday.

CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey has been digging into that question. According to legal experts, charges could be on the table.

So far prosecutors have been very hesitant to say anything on the record about charges against the suspected shooter's parents.

But one legal expert said there could be a case to charge the dad, and that's only four days into the investigation.

On Thursday, the attorney for the suspected shooter's parents – Robert Crimo Jr and Denise Pesina – said they wouldn't be making any public comments going forward, but said "the parents will continue to speak with law-enforcement and to assist them."

Attorney Steve Greenberg had previously tweeted that the parents were not to blame for what happened, saying, "ISP should ask why did THEY approve a FOID card and why do THEY allow the sale of assault weapons?"

The suspect's father sponsored his FOID card application just three months after an incident in which police were called to the family's home, because the suspect was threatening to kill them with a collection of knives and swords.

The suspect's father, who is mentioned several times in that police report, would have had to sign a two-page waiver attesting to his ability to be a sponsor.

It doesn't ask anything about the person applying for the FOID card, but state statute reads: "the parent or legal guardian giving the consent shall be liable for any damages resulting from the applicant's use of firearms or firearm ammunition."

"If the state doesn't press charges, then they're admitting that the whole statute is a sham," said attorney Stephan Blandin, whose firm has represented many victims of mass shootings across the country.

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It's been three days since the mass shooting in Highland Park, and the community is just starting to come to terms with what happened.

CBS 2's Marissa Parra tells us about those we've lost, those who survived, and those who helped them.

At least 38 people were hurt, and 7 people died, but some of the store owners in Highland Park were heroes who kept those numbers from climbing higher.

Those who died ranged in age from 35 to 88.

The latest victim was 69-year-old Eduardo Uvaldo, who died Wednesday morning at a hospital in Evanston.

His family said he was a kind and loving man, who attended the 4th of July parade every year.

Uvaldo's wife and grandson were right there with him. His wife was left with bullet fragments in the head. Their grandson was shot in the arm, but will be okay.

His family said Uvaldo loved being a husband, a father, and a grandfather.

Just steps away from where so many lives were left forever changed, a growing memorial features candles, flowers, letters to the victims, and messages of hope on the sidewalk, with one message reading "HP Strong."

It was on this same street that, through darkness, heroes emerged.

Nearly 50 strangers hunkered down for four hours inside Immaculate Conception Parish, including two young girls who couldn't find their mother. Father Hernan Cuevas was later able to reunite them.

Then there were the Meltzers from Bright Bowls smoothie shop. As soon as the shots rang out Monday morning, they ushered roughly 100 people – including children – inside their shop and down to the basement for safety.

"I think we felt a sense of responsibility for people, because this was our place," Matt Meltzer said. "We've got three kids, so we had markers, and crayons, and paper that we brought downstairs."

"We don't consider ourselves heroes. We considered everyone who was there on 4th of July a hero just for running and grabbing their children, and doing what they could to stay safe. We just happened to have a place with a lot of space," Lindsay Meltzer said.

There are vigils honoring the entire community, including at least one Thursday night at St. James Church, where Uvaldo used to go to with his family.

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- The parade route is still the scene of an investigation as police and FBI continue to comb through the area for evidence.

Some families are beginning to get back the things they had to so frantically leave behind. CBS 2 Asal Rezaei visited Highland Park High School, 433 Vine Ave, where a family assistance center is set up.

This is a place many families have been coming to look for their belongings -- things like chairs, shoes, and their children's toys. It's also been a place where people have come to drop off donations for those that are also coming here for trauma counseling.

There's still so much to process both mentally and physically for the victims of this shooting.

Police are bringing items they've already investigated here to release them to their owners; some items too big to be brought here like one woman's car. She says her van was parked near the parade route and she hasn't had access to it or the rest of her family's belongings still behind crime tape at the scene.

While the FBI has helped her get her van back, there are still a lot of things they're waiting to show up here at the high school, that woman, a grandmother, tells us what she went through that day and how she's feeling now.

"I saw people start to run in front of me. at which point I quickly turned toward my right, which would be toward where the shooter was, and I saw several bodies on the ground, and I just took off running," she said. 

"it just would be nice to get our things back, if they're around."

There's everything from crisis counseling available for people here, to spiritual care, therapy dogs, and childcare services.

The Illinois attorney general's office will even be providing information on how to access crime victim compensation programs.

The counseling and resources here are really for anyone that needs it right now that including anyone who was present at the parade, anyone who lost someone that day, or just anyone in the community that's experiencing emotional distress.

They'll have their doors open here from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Saturday is to be determined. 

Anyone seeking services at the center should enter at Entrance H, at Woodpath Lane and St. Johns Avenue. You need to bring a state ID or driver's license to enter the building. Security will work with anyone who does not have ID, because it was left behind at the parade route.

The CBS 2 investigators have been tracking the weapons purchased by the gunman in the July 4th Highland Park parade massacre.

That search sent CBS 2 investigator Dave Savini to the Red Dot Arms store Lake Villa store.

We are told at least one of the five guns recovered from suspected gunman Bobby Crimo was legally picked up at Red Dot Arms - possibly the one used in the shooting.

That gun - a high-powered rifle was reportedly purchased online from another store in another state and then legally shipped to Red Dot Arms for pickup, since Crimo had a valid Firearm Owners Identification card.

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For hours on after the Highland Park July 4th parade massacre, some local business owners held frightened paradegoers in their smoothie shop – some of them children.

Matt and Lindsay Meltzer, owners of the Bright Bowls smoothie bowl shop at 777 Central Ave., helped countless strangers hide for hours in their shop's basement.

"All of a sudden I saw them sprinting with looks of terror," Lindsay Meltzer said. "I screamed, 'Everyone inside! Everyone inside!' I don't know what's going on or what's happening."

For protection, the back-alley windows of Bright Bowls were boarded up with cardboard as minutes turned into hours – and as the light of the parade suddenly turned dark. A teacher was among the roughly 100 people who ran inside the shop. She kept more than a dozen kids occupied and at ease as police searched for the shooter - and parents frantically waited for answers.  

"Meditation, singing songs – we've got three kids, so we had markers and crayons and paper that we brought downstairs," said Matt Meltzer.

The group of strangers turned survivors who bonded in a basement - and escaped safely – returned on Wednesday. They left flowers and notes, a thank-you to the couple who served calm during the chaos.

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For paradegoers the day of the July 4th massacre in Highland Park, one Roman Catholic church was a shelter from the chaos.

CBS 2's Jermont Terry talked with a local priest who ushered dozens of people into his house. When people ran from the parade route, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at 770 Deerfield Rd. was where so many hid – including two young children who were covered in blood after they witnessed their father get shot.

The morning of the Highland Park parade, the United Parish of Immaculate Conception and St. James was proudly ready to display its float. They were a block from the parade route when video recorded by Father Cuevas captured the mayhem.

He caught the sounds of the first shots.

"I turned toward my parishioners and I started just telling them: 'Run! Run! Run!'" Cuevas said.

Fifty strangers hunkered down for nearly four hours. Cuevas said he and the others were "absolutely" concerned the shooter could come inside the church.

Locked behind the stained glass in God's house, two children stood out.

"Their shirts had some blood, on their shirts, because their dad was shot," Cuevas said.

The kids followed the strangers into the sanctuary.

"The first thing was taking care of the blood that was on their shirts, and kind of taking away the kind of trauma of whatever was going on with them," Cuevas said. "You could tell by looking at their eyes, they were like lost."

Yet the children put total trust in Father Cuevas as he prayed.

After three hours of waiting for an all-clear, a woman frantically arrived.

"We knew that she was the mom of the kids that we were here with, and we just hugged each other, and we just were crying," Cuevas said.

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Many hugged, cried, and carried candles Wednesday night to remember the seven men and women who lost their lives in the massacre. CBS 2's Marissa Perlman visited a vigil in neighboring Highwood.

When the unthinkable happens, neighbors told Perlman they don't know what to do – other than be together.

The grieving process started with a little bagpipe music and memories, and a message – "Highland Park Strong." Mourners drew that message in blue chalk on the ground.

"To grieve together is very cathartic," said Michael Goldstein of Highland Park.

Neighbors came to be together and embrace in Everts Park in Highwood, during a time when they never thought such a horror could happen.

"This just seems so surreal to us – and how could this happen here?" a Goldstein said.

But the unspeakable did happen. And now, thousands of ribbons send a message to the hurt, the grieving, and those who died.

Vigils were also held Wednesday evening at Galilee United Methodist Church, 1696 McGovern Ave., and another was held at Makom Solel Lakeside, 1301 Clavey Rd.  The Rev. Jesse Jackson was in attendance at the Makom Solel Lakeside vigil.

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Reports released by the City of Highland Park through a Freedom of Information Act request shed further light on previous contact police had with July 4th parade shooting suspect Bobby Crimo.

An April 29, 2019, report on a wellbeing check on Crimo, then 18, indicated that he had a history of suicide attempts and had attempted suicide by machete the week before. A complaint and the alleged suicide attempt were handled by mental health professionals, and police were sent a week later as a result of a "delayed third party complaint." There were no threats of harm made by Crimo against himself or others on the day police were contacted, the report said.

Read the documents

Police came to the Crimo family home again on Sept. 5, 2019, according to another report. An officer reported that Crimo had said he had made a threat to the household and said he was going to "kill everyone." The report was partially redacted, but there was reference to someone reporting they were afraid to go home because of the threat, and to a collection of knives in a bedroom.

Officers talked with Crimo and his mother, and Crimo admitted to being depressed three days earlier and to having a history of drug use the report said. The report said Crimo was "not forthcoming as to the language that he used on Monday, nor was his mother."

Police said they learned the knives belonged to Crimo's father, who agreed to turn over a collection of 16 knives that were stored in a tin can lunch box, a 12-inch dagger, and a 24-inch Samurai-type blade that was stored in the younger Crimo's bedroom for safe keeping, the report said.

The younger Crimo was asked if he felt like harming himself or others and he said no, the report said. Crimo was told to contact police if he needed their assistance, or medical assistance, the report said.

The report said a Clear and Present Danger form was submitted to Illinois State Police at that point.

A Clear and Present Danger restriction requires a preponderance of evidence that a FOID applicant poses a danger – which is a higher burden than probable cause, Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly explained earlier Wednesday. State Police said in Crimo's case, both Crimo and his mother disputed the threat of violence and Crimo told police did not feel like hurting himself or others. State Police also noted that the Highland Park police report indicated that the knives belonged to Crimo's father and they were turned over to him.

"As stated by Highland Park Police, there was no probable cause to arrest," state police said in a news release "Upon review of the report at that time, the reviewing officer concluded there was insufficient information for a Clear and Present Danger determination."  

Kelly further emphasized that between the time of Crimo's September 2019 encounter with police and the point three months later when Crimo filed for a FOID card, "there was nothing new in between."

"So from the time of that report, knowing that information, there was nothing new that changed anything about what was in that report. Again, no new arrests. No new confrontations with law enforcement. No new crime committed. No new order of protection. No new firearms restraining order. So there was nothing that added to that at the time the decision was made to issue the FOID card," Kelly said. "So again, having nothing change from that original report in the interim, there was no circumstance where that original Clear and Present Danger report would have impacted the decision at that point the FOID card was issued."

In the days following the Highland Park mass shooting that killed seven people and hurt dozens more, questions were raised about how 21-year-old suspect Robert Crimo III was able to purchase guns legally despite having two encounters with police in 2019. 

Officials, in part, pointed to Crimo's family, who didn't want to press charges at the time. But experts said officers didn't need the family's cooperation to utilize the Illinois Red Flag Law, which could have prevented the suspect from getting a FOID card and buying guns later on.

The Firearm Restraining Order Act went into effect in Illinois in 2019. Under the law, a family member or police officer can file a petition with the court for an order if they believe someone "poses a danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself or another" by having a gun.

 Allison Anderman, senior counsel and director of local policy for Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said under that law, Highland Park police could have petitioned to try to keep Crimo from obtaining guns in the future based on their previous encounters with him. 

"There was at least enough evidence for law enforcement to consider petition for an order, and possibly going before a court to get this order," said Anderman, who works with states and local governments across the country to draft and enact gun safety legislation. 

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In the chaos of Monday's deadly mass shooting in Highland Park, many parade goers found safety in small businesses downtown.

CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported Wednesday that in the days following the violence, those businesses are once again a safe space for people working through their trauma.

In Highland Park, it's not uncommon to see people stopping in the street giving each other a hug and creating a space to heal.

One man sat down at a café, all day, with an empty chair beside him with two words: "Let's talk."

"Strangers become, you know, friends and family when brought together by tragedy and this is now a community that is bound by tragedy. If nothing else, other than the acknowledgment of 'I am suffering' I am too," said Matt Berk. "We all are, even if we just sit together here in silence we're sharing something."

Berk is from Highland Park. He and his wife are raising their kids there and chose it because they wanted their kids to have a safe childhood.

When the shooting happened, he had just put his youngest down for a nap. Now he's trying to figure out a way to talk to them about it all.

He sat steps away from the shooting. He met new neighbors who just needed to talk. People stopped, just to share space and to savor their community.

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A memorial of flowers, candles, and signs was growing in downtown Highland Park Wednesday afternoon. As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported, one of those victims was Jacquelyn Sundheim – a lifelong member of a local North Shore Congregation Israel synagogue.

Sundheim was a wife, mother, sister, aunt, teacher, and beloved member of the Highland Park community.

North Shore Congregation Israel held a community vigil Wednesday and made it available by livestream. In addition to being a lifelong congregant, Sundheim was also a beloved staff member for decades.

Synagogue leaders shared in a letter that "her work, kindness, and warmth touched us all."

Described as "Mrs. Sunshine" on the GoFundMe page raising money for funeral expenses, the organizer - a family friend – wrote: "Jacki was a force for good in the community, whether through teaching children, coordinating special events at the synagogue, or simply helping neighbors, friends and strangers however she could. She made connections with people wherever she went with an incredible kindness, generosity, smile, and sense of humor."

There is a service honoring Sundheim's life set for later this week.

Meanwhile, as we learn more about those still being treated, a spokesperson for the NorthShore University HealthSystem told us two people were still hospitalized as of late Wednesday. Both are considered stable and recovering in NorthShore University HealthSystem Evanston Hospital.

A total of 36 people were treated at NorthShore hospitals Monday, between the ages of 8 and 85. A total of 25 patients suffered gunshots wounds - one of them an 8-year-old boy the chairman of surgery here first told us about Monday.

"There was a child that was shot and injured here that was too unstable to transfer, so the trauma surgeons and the anesthesiologists and the nurses – all of whom did an extraordinary job, nothing short of heroic - stabilized that patient, repaired the injuries that needed to be repaired, and that child is now in route to University of Chicago by helicopter to the Children's hospital," said Mark Talamonti, Chairman of Surgery for NorthShore University HealthSystem.

Family members have asked for privacy right now, but tell us the boy is in the ICU. A spokesperson for the U of C's Comer Children's Hospital said, "The patient remains in critical, but stable condition today."

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There are seven people forever intertwined in tragedy after losing their lives in the mass shooting at the July 4th parade in Highland Park.

Irina and Kevin McCarthy, whose 2-year-old son has now come to be known as baby Aiden, after he was orphaned and found wandering alone in Highland Park, after the gunman killed seven people and wounded dozens more.

CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz spoke to Natalie Lorentz, who was right next to the McCarthys on the parade route. She said it was the worst moment of her life.

A photo taken along the 4th of July parade route shows Lorentz with her three children, just moments before the shots rang out.

"We just got up and started running. I grabbed my youngest son, and my husband had my other two kids, and my mom was running with us. She wiped out, and fell, and got separated from us," Lorentz said.

"When I was down on the ground, the guy next to me looked like his leg was shot off. And the woman in front of him was completely covered with blood," her mother said.

Lorentz said the plaid blanket next to them in the photo from the parade belongs to the McCarthy family. She said she remembers seeing Irina and Kevin with Aiden.

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A steady stream of strollers and panicked parents flooded into Matt Phillips' Highland Park winery as the shots were fired just next door.

Phillips had his doors open.

"Images kind of start coming back and you just start remembering what you saw," he told CBS 2's Sabrina Franza.

Lynfred Winery, 1823 St. Johns Ave., opened its tasting room a month ago just next to the parade route. They were serving on Monday morning, welcoming Highland Park in for mimosas.

"It was an opportunity to engage with members of the community," Phillips said. "It was right about that time when we heard the gunshots."

He said he never expected to be a safe haven.

"Basement. Storage area. The office," Phillips said. 

He hid  about 40 people, kids and adults, who caught on camera running inside.

"We locked the door and just waited in disbelief for a while," Phillips said.

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The Make It Better Foundation has prepared a list of resources for those in need of support in the wake of the Highland Park massacre. The list includes support for victims and first responders, resources for the Highland Park community, and other information.

You can find it here.

Highland Park police released this photo of a gun found in suspect Robert "Bobby" Crimo III's car after the parade shooting. 

The suspected shooter had 60 rounds in the weapon, and prosecutors said he considered carrying out another mass shooting in Madison, Wisconsin.

Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly explained Wednesday afternoon that evidence was insufficient to deny the suspect in the Highland Park July 4th parade massacre a FOID card.

This was despite the fact that he had previously been investigated by Highland Park police over a threat.

There are two means under which someone can be denied a Firearm Owners Identification Card in Illinois, Kelly explained. One is through Clear and Present Danger reporting rule, which dates back to 1990. The other is a through a firearms restraining order issued in court.

A Clear and Present Danger restriction requires a preponderance of evidence that a FOID applicant poses a danger – which is a higher burden than probable cause, Kelly explained. A firearms restraining order also requires convincing evidence as burden of proof.

The burden of proof for either restriction was not met in the case of the Highland Park massacre suspect, Kelly said.

In the Highland Park gunman's case, said in September 2019 – before he submitted a FOID card app – a threat of violence by the suspect was reported secondhand to Highland Park police. When police arrived, both the suspect and his mother disputed that there had really been a threat of violence, and the suspect himself said he did not feel like hurting himself or others and was offered mental health resources, Kelly said.

Police did remove 16 knives, a dagger, and a sword from the home. But Kelly said a report from the incident indicated the knives did not belong to the suspect, and they were turned over to his father, who claimed they were his.

There was also no probable cause to arrest the suspect at that time, Kelly said.

This incident did not meet the burden of proof for a Clear and Present Danger determination when he filed for a FOID card in December of 2019 with a parental legal guardian affidavit, Kelly said. The suspect also  had no criminal record, no mental health prohibitors, and no orders of protection against him – and thus, a firearms restraining order in court was not an option either, Kelly said.

Thus, the FOID card was granted.

At a news conference in Madison, Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon, that city's police chief confirmed that the Highland Park suspect observed a celebration in Madison the same day.

Chief Shon Barnes said at 3:38 p.m. Monday, July 4, the FBI called the Madison Police Department and requested mobilization of SWAT team. A SWAT team did mobilize, but authorities then learned the suspect had been arrested.

"Today I join you in feeling frustrated that more families are forever scared," Barnes said.

Also at the news conference, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway noted that the suspect drove past hundreds of communities on the way from Highland Park to Madison, and "all of us are at risk."

"It does not have to be this way. We can make different choices," Rhodes-Conway said. "We should not have to live in fear of gun violence in our schools, in our streets, at celebrations."

Even at 88, Steve Straus still worked five days a week as a stockbroker, commuting from Highland Park to Chicago on Metra.

Calling his father a "real Chicagoan" who was born and raised in the city before moving to Highland Park in the 1960s, Jon Straus said his dad was still active and, until recently, was an avid cyclist.

Steve went to the July 4th parade in Highland Park every year, including on Monday, when he was one of seven people killed by a gunman who opened fire from a nearby rooftop.

Jon remembered his "amazing" father as an "exceptionally kind person" who was "one of the sweetest people you could ever meet."

Steve loved following the stock market, going to downtown Chicago, and being on the Metra. He also painted a lot, and loved books and music.

His niece, Cynthia Straus, posted a tribute to him on Facebook, with the message, "Follow The Sun Steve, to the other side of the veil."

"He is integral to our family, a kind, sweet and gentle soul with great humor, intelligence and keen wit. He towered over our family like a protective Oak sheltering his own," she wrote.  "Only those who have left this world know what awaits, and for me I can only say that if there are bells at Heaven's Gate they are chiming and cheering for you, for a life well lived, and a soul well served. But, let's be clear NO ONE should die this way."

Steve leaves behind his wife, two sons, and four grandchildren.

Following the July 4th mass shooting, Ravinia Festival in Highland Park is canceling or postponing all of its scheduled concerts and events through Sunday, "out of deep respect for our community."

"Ravinia stands in loving support of our Highland Park community. We wish comfort and peace to the victims, their families, and all those affected, and look forward to gathering together again soon," the festival said in a statement. 

Events this week included The Goonies: In Concert on Wednesday; Sheryl Crow, featuring special gest Keb' Mo' and Southern Avenue on Thursday; piano and strings chamber performances by the Ravinia Steans Music Institute on Friday and Saturday; John Fogerty with special guest Hearty Har on Friday; Michael Franti & Spearhead with special guest Arrested Development on Saturday; The Summit of Strings and Peak Piano: Jaakko Kuusisto Music and More on Sunday; and Lyle Lovett & His Large Band and Chris Isaak on Sunday.

"This decision was made after careful consideration and in close consultation with many stakeholders, including neighbors, public officials, artists, and patrons. Our shared hope is that the reduced activity-both within the park and in the neighborhoods surrounding Ravinia-will give the community the space and quiet to reflect and heal," the festival said.  

Anyone with tickets to those performances will get automatic refunds by Aug. 1.

The seventh victim of the mass shooting on July 4 has been identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. 

Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, of Waukegan, was shot during the rampage at Highland Park's Independence Day parade.  

He was pronounced dead today at 7:47 a.m. at Evanston Hospital. He had been transferred there from Highland Park with severe injuries. 

The family said Uvaldo was shot in the head.  Other family members were wounded in the attack. According to a Go Fund Me page, the family attended the parade every year. 

The other six dead are:

• 64-year-old Katherine Goldstein of Highland Park
• 35-year-old Irina McCarthy of Highland Park 
• 37-year-old Kevin McCarthy of Highland Park 
• 63-year-old Jacquelyn Sundheim of Highland Park 
• 88-year-old Stephen Straus of Highland Park
•  78-year-old Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, Morelos, Mexico

The suspect in the deadly Highland Park mass shooting, Robert "Bobby" Crimo III, confessed to opening fire from a rooftop during the July 4th parade, before fleeing to Wisconsin, where he considered shooting more people.

Crimo was ordered held without bail at his first court appearance on Wednesday, where prosecutors revealed he fired more than 80 rounds during the attack. 

Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Chris Covelli later revealed Crimo drove to Wisconsin, after fleeing the scene of the mass shooting, and "seriously contemplated using the firearm he had in his vehicle to commit another shooting in Madison" after coming across a celebration there.

Covelli said Crimo was armed with a second rifle and 60 rounds of ammunition while in Madison, after dropping the murder weapon from Highland Park in an alley as he fled the scene. But, because he hadn't put any planning into a shooting in Madison, Crimo did not carry out an attack there. 

Instead, he went back to Illinois, dumping his phone in Middleton, Wisconsin, on his way.

That new detail in the case came after Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Ben Dillon told a judge at Crimo's bond hearing that Crimo made a voluntary confession to the mass shooting in Highland Park.

When he was questioned by police, Crimo provided a voluntary statement confessing to his actions, saying he looked down the sights of the rifle, aimed, and opened fire at people across the street from the rooftop during the Highland Park July 4th parade.

He admitted to firing a full 30-round magazine, reloading, firing another full 30-round magazine, reloading again, and continuing to fire.

Investigators recovered those three magazines from the rooftop, along with 83 spent shell casings, according to Dillon.

Dillon argued Crimo must be held without bail because he faces a mandatory life sentence if he's convicted.

A Lake County judge ruled Crimo presents a "specific and present threat" to the public, and ordered him held without bail.

Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, one for each of the seven people killed in what Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart has described as a "premeditated and calculated attack." At least 38 people were wounded in the shooting.

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