The man accused of attacking an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, a prosecutor said. Lake County State’s attorney Eric Rinehart promised that dozens more charges would be sought. He added that the suspect, if convicted of murder, would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
It comes after police said Robert E Crimo III legally bought two high-powered rifles and three other weapons despite authorities being called to his home twice since 2019 after he threatened suicide and violence.
A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force told a news conference that the suspected shooter, who was arrested late on Monday, used a high-powered rifle “similar to an AR-15″ to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore.
