A woman whose sons used to be friends with Highland Park shooting suspect Robert Crimo has revealed that he attempted suicide as far back as 2016 as she branded his family’s claims that they saw no warning signs ahead of the attack as “a joke”.
The mother-of-two, who wishes to remain anonymous, told The Daily Beast that the 21-year-old went on a “downward spiral” around six years ago but his parents ignored his poor mental health.
Mr Crimo is now facing life behind bars for the murders of seven innocent parade-goers during a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
The suspect is accused of perching on top of a nearby building and opening fire on the families, local residents and groups of friends who had gathered to enjoy the Independence Day celebrations below.
Following the massacre, questions are now mounting around why Mr Crimo was able to legally purchase multiple firearms – and why his father sponsored his gun permit application – when he had previously displayed disturbing behaviour and made threats to kill his family.
“I thought it was a joke when his uncle came out and said ‘There were no signs of this. He was always this quiet kid, working in his apartment and behind the house,’” the woman told The Daily Beast.
“When it was like he had tried killing himself twice when he was hanging out with my [children], so how could you say there was no signs of this?”
She added: “I think there’s a lot of balls dropped, no matter which way you look at it.”
The woman said her two sons used to go to the same local skatepark as Mr Crimo and so he would often come to their home around 2016 and 2017.
Back then, she said that he was “a sweet kid” who was quiet and polite but was “a loner and depressed”.
“I think his emotional instability was kind of brushed under the rug by his family,” she said.
While she didn’t think he was capable of going on to carry out a mass shooting, the woman said she did think he posed a danger to himself.
“He wasn’t always like this, and I would have never guessed that he would hurt a fly. Hurt himself? Yes. But hurt someone else? No,” she said.
The woman said that Mr Crimo tried to kill himself multiple times and struggled with suicidal thoughts and self-harm as far back as 2016.
Attorney George Gomez, who is representing Mr Crimo’s parents Bob Crimo Jr and Denise Pesina, told The Daily Beast his office was “not aware of anything like that happening in 2016”.
He also said that his clients “did not follow” their son on social media and so weren’t aware of his rap music videos where he glorified violence and mass shootings.
A former friend of Mr Crimo also told the outlet that she had messaged his father on Facebook around 2015 to warn him that his son had spoken about wanting to overdose.
The friend said that Bob Crimo ignored her message and blocked her on the social media platform.
“He felt a lot of times that his parents didn’t care about him,” she said.
Mr Gomez denied Mr Crimo’s parents had any knowledge of their son feeling suicidal back then.
It emerged this week that police were called to two separate incidents at the Crimo family home in 2019 involving the alleged mass murderer.
In April 2019, police were called to the home when Mr Crimo allegedly tried to kill himself with a machete.
Officers referred the incident to mental health professionals.
Five months later, on 5 September 2019, officers responded to the home again for a wellbeing check after Mr Crimo had “stated that he was going to kill everyone”.
The victim, a family member who was a minor at the time, said that they were “afraid to go home due to the nature of this threat” and because there was “a collection of knives in [Mr Crimo’s] bedroom”.
The then-18-year-old Mr Crimo admitted to officers that he was “depressed” and had a history of drug use, according to a police report released by Illinois State Police (ISP).
Police confiscated a trove of knives from his bedroom at the time including a 24-inch Samurai type sword, a 12-inch dagger and a tin lunch box with 16 hand knives – which were then collected just four hours later by Mr Crimo’s father after he claimed the knives were his and that he had simply been storing them in his son’s room for “safekeeping”.
Despite the warning signs about Mr Crimo’s disturbing behaviour, three months later, his father sponsored his son’s application for an FOID card (a state card required for an individual to purchase and possess firearms).
In January 2020 – despite being sent the police reports about the incidents – the ISP approved the FOID application.
Mr Crimo then legally bought five firearms over the next two years – including the high-powered Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle he allegedly used in Monday’s attack.
As well as the alleged threats to hurt himself and others, Mr Crimo also had a disturbing online footprint, posting videos where he glamourised violence, firearms and mass shootings.
Among the trail of disturbing posts are music videos he posted on his YouTube account under his rap name Awake the Rapper, including one where he appears in a classroom with bullets and dressed in tactical gear, appearing to glorify school shootings.
Questions are now growing around whether Mr Crimo’s father – who had a failed run for mayor of Highland Park –could now face charges in connection to the mass shooting.
Bob Crimo has denied any potential culpability for the massacre saying he had “zero” involvement in what happened.
Mr Crimo has so far been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder with more charges expected in the coming days.
If convicted, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
