A toddler was orphaned after his father shielded him from semi-automatic gunfire in the Independence Day parade shooting in Illinois.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering told NBC that Kevin McCarthy had laid across his two-year-old son Aiden to protect him from gunfire during Monday’s mass shooting.
Ms Rotering said the image of Aiden, who also lost mother Irina, would “haunt” her for the rest of her life.
On Wednesday, Robert Crimo was denied bail after he made his first court appearance on Wednesday on seven charges of first-degree murder.
Prosecutors told the judge the 21-year-old made a “voluntary statement confessing to his actions” and revealed that the young man had made his way to Madison, Wisconsin, where he intended to commit another mass shooting but turned back.
If convicted, he will face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to police, Mr Crimo had planned an attack for weeks and fired more than 80 rounds randomly into the crowd watching the parade, killing seven and injuring more than three dozen people.
A GoFundme set up by friends of the McCarthy family has raised nearly $2.5m by Wednesday afternoon, after billionaire hedgefund manager Bill Ackman made an $18,000 donation.
