Police Nab Suspect Following Blood Bath At Highland Park Parade
Illinois police have apprehended a “person of interest” wanted in connection with a sniper attack at a July 4 parade in Highland Park that left six people dead and dozens more in the hospital.
Authorities said 22-year-old Robert “Bobby” Crimo III is the suspected gunman, adding that when they captured him, he was armed and dangerous.
A North Chicago police officer spotted the car Crimo was driving after a gunman perched on a rooftop fired a high-powered rifle indiscriminately into families watching the annual parade. There was a short pursuit before he was arrested in Lake Forest.
Shawn Cotreua said he had witnessed the shooting.
“I turned around and things were in flames, the tree was getting pelted with bullets and I could see the shooter,” Cotreau said. “It took people 10 to 15 seconds to realize he was actually shooting.
“He was pointing [the gun] downward toward the center of the street,” he added. “I felt like the gunshots went on for minutes, it just didn’t stop.”
The NorthShore Highland Park Hospital said it treated 26 patients—ages 8 to 85—all but one of whom had gunshot wounds. Nineteen have already been treated and released. Of the rest, one was transferred to Evanston Hospital for neurological surgery.
The parade is a time-honored event in Highland Park and before 10 a.m., families began lining Central Avenue.
After the kids’ parade and the dog, parades were over, a marching band started and that’s when the shots rang out, and initially, people thought it might be drums or fireworks.
When the realization set in, people grabbed their kids and ran for safety.
Witness Miles Zaremski said he was on the route when he heard pop pop pop pop.
“I thought, maybe it’s a backfire. Then there’s another pop and I said, ‘Oh somebody must be shooting off firecrackers. And then all of a sudden, there were multiple pops.
“And I said, that is nothing other than a rapid-fire, long gun like an AR-15 or something. And indeed it was. And then there was a mass stampede,” he said.
“I started walking up, figuring, oh, maybe I could help or something, which I couldn’t, but I saw blood all over on the sidewalk and street. I saw bloodied bodies, a couple of them at least, and one child that looked lifeless.
“I think if it can happen in our community, obviously it can happen anywhere in this country. And what is even more sickening is it happened on the celebration of our country… We’ve seen mass murders at schools and synagogues and churches and nightclubs… It’s disgusting.”