The 21-year-old man accused of opening fire at a suburban Chicago Fourth of July parade, killing seven people and injuring dozens of others, is due to make his first appearance in court on Wednesday.
Robert “Bobby” Crimo III is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in the wake of Monday morning’s mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois.
Authorities believe the massacre had been planned for weeks.
Crimo is accused of opening fire on people attending the parade from a roof of a business. Police said more than 70 rounds were fired from the gunman’s high-powered rifle, which was similar to an AR-15 and purchased legally in Illinois.
Revelers fled in panic, leaving behind empty strollers, overturned chairs and half-eaten sandwiches.
“Bodies were horribly, horribly, horribly injured from, you know, guns and bullets that were made for war — not for parades,” paradegoer Dr. David Baum said of some of the victims.
Chairs, bicycles, strollers and balloons were left behind at the scene of a mass shooting on the Fourth of July parade route along Central Avenue in Highland Park, Ill., July 4, 2022.
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via Getty Images
“The paramedics went quickly and assessed the damages — saw bodies that were blown apart and put a blanket over them quickly. And then went on to try and help other people,” Baum told ABC News. “These are injuries that nobody should have to see.”
Police said Crimo wore women’s clothing during the shooting to apparently allow him to hide his facial tattoos and blend in with the crowd to flee the scene.
Crimo was apprehended Monday night after an hourslong manhunt.
No motive is known, police said. When asked by reporters if the gunman targeted anyone specifically, police said the “shooting appears to be completely random.”