HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. -- The man charged with killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he unleashed a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wis., area, where he contemplated shooting up an event there, authorities said Wednesday.
The suspect, Robert Crimo III, turned back to Illinois, where he was later arrested, after deciding he was not prepared to pull off another attack, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference following a hearing where the 21-year-old man was denied bail.
The parade shooting left another American community reeling -- this time affluent Highland Park, home to about 30,000 people near the Lake Michigan shore. More than two dozen people were wounded, some critically, and hundreds of marchers, parents and children fled in a panic.
Covelli said it did not appear the suspect had planned another attack in Wisconsin, but fled there, saw another July 4 celebration and "seriously contemplated" firing on it. The assailant had ditched the semi-automatic rifle he used in Illinois, but he had a similar rifle and about 60 more rounds, Covelli said.
Police later found his phone in Middleton, Wis., which is about 135 miles from Highland Park.
For hours before the gunman's arrest, police warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous. Several nearby cities canceled events including parades and fireworks. Most festivities in and around Madison, Wisconsin's capital, went ahead.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a news conference Wednesday that the FBI on Monday evening urged the department to prepare its SWAT team because investigators believed the gunman could be in the area. But Barnes said he was not warned that the shooter was considering carrying out further attacks.
Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Ben Dillon said in court that the gunman climbed up the fire escape of a building above the Highland Park parade, "looked down his sights, aimed" and fired at people across the street. He left the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines on the rooftop. He initially evaded capture by disguising himself as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, according to police.
Some of the wounded remained hospitalized in critical condition, Covelli said, and the death toll could still rise. Already, the deaths from the shooting have left a 2-year-old boy without parents, families mourning the loss of beloved grandparents and a synagogue grieving the death of a congregant who for decades had also worked on the staff.
Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said he planned to bring attempted murder and aggravated battery charges for each individual who was hurt.
"There will be many, many more charges coming," he said at a news conference.
If convicted of the first-degree murder charges, the gunman would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Crimo wore a black long-sleeve shirt as he appeared in court by video. As the prosecutor described the shooting, he said little besides telling the judge that he did not have a lawyer.
On Tuesday, Thomas Durkin, a prominent Chicago-based lawyer, said he would represent Crimo and that he intended to enter an innocent plea to all charges. But Durkin told the court Wednesday that he had a conflict of interest, and Crimo has been assigned a public defender.
Rinehart left open the possibility of charging Crimo's parents, telling reporters that he "doesn't want to answer" that question right now as the investigation continues.
Steve Greenberg, the lawyer for Crimo's parents, said the parents aren't concerned about being charged with anything related to their son's case.
KNOWN TO POLICE
Questions also arose about how the suspect could have skirted Illinois' relatively strict gun laws to legally purchase five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 over threats of violence and suicide.
Police went to the home following a call from a family member who said Crimo was threatening "to kill everyone" there. Covelli said police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword, but said there was no sign he had any guns at the time, in September 2019.
Police in April 2019 also responded to a reported suicide attempt by Crimo, Covelli said.
Illinois state police, who issue gun owners' licenses, said Crimo applied in December 2019, when he was 19. His father sponsored his application, and he purchased the semi-automatic rifles in 2020, Covelli said.
In all, police said, he purchased five firearms -- four while he was younger than 21 and a fifth after his 21st birthday last year.
The revelations about his gun purchases was another example of young men who were able to obtain guns and carry out massacres in recent months despite warning signs about their mental health and inclination to violence.
The state police have defended how the application was handled, saying that at the time "there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger" and deny the application.
Investigators who have interrogated Crimo and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said.
LAWS WEREN'T ENOUGH
In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburb's stance. The legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Court's doorstep in 2015 when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburb's restrictions stand.
Asked whether Crimo's case demonstrates flaws in state law, Rinehart said "the gap in the state's gun laws would be that we don't ban assault weapons."
Under Illinois law, gun purchases can be denied to people convicted of felonies, addicted to narcotics or deemed capable of harming themselves or others. That last provision might have stopped a suicidal Crimo from getting a weapon.
But under the law, who that provision applies to must be decided by "a court, board, commission or other legal authority."
The state has a red flag law designed to stop dangerous people before they kill, but it requires family members, relatives, roommates or police to ask a judge to order guns seized.
Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting on social media dozens of videos and songs, some of them ominous and violent.
VIRGINIA SHOOTING THWARTED
Also Wednesday, police in Richmond, Va., said they thwarted a planned July 4 mass shooting after receiving a tip that led to the arrest of two men and the seizure of multiple guns.
A "hero citizen" overheard a conversation indicating there was an attack being planned on a celebration in the capital city and called police to report it, Police Chief Gerald Smith said at a news conference. The caller said the attack was planned for the Dogwood Dell Amphitheater, where a fireworks show is held each year, Smith said.
"One phone call saved numerous lives on the Fourth of July," Smith said.
Police initiated an investigation along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, which led to the arrests of two men on charges of being non-U.S. citizens in possession of a firearm, Smith said. He said additional charges are possible.
Julio Alvarado-Dubon, 52, was arrested Friday, the day police received the tip, Smith said. He said they put a second suspect, Rolman Alberto Balacarcel, 38, under surveillance that day, but did not initially have probable cause to arrest him. He was arrested Tuesday in Albemarle County, near Charlottesville, and was being held in a local jail.
Police spokesperson Tracy Walker said both men are from Guatemala. Initial documents filed in General District Court in Richmond say neither man is in the U.S. legally. The documents, which say Alvarado-Dubon has an expired visa, did not include any details about the alleged plot.
Court documents note bail was set at $15,000 for Alvarado-Dubon on Wednesday, but it was unclear if he had been released. The documents say he has lived in the Richmond area for three years and works in the construction industry. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled in Richmond on Aug. 2. Alvarado-Dubon's attorney, Jose Aponte, declined to comment Wednesday.
It wasn't immediately clear if Balacarcel had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Smith said the two men lived together in a Richmond house, where officers seized two assault rifles, a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition that were in plain view. He said they have not determined a motive for the planned attack.
"l want to thank and applaud the hero in Virginia that stopped a potential massacre by alerting our brave Richmond Police Department Officers that work tirelessly every day to protect our communities," Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a tweet. "It's a great reminder that if you see something, say something to your local PD."
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who joined the news conference along with members of the City Council, decried what he called an epidemic of gun violence across the country.
"Whether you're at home in your cul-de-sac, or in your neighborhood, or in a park, or at a parade, out dining -- you have to keep your head on a swivel," Stoney said. "And that's not the country that I know I desire to live in ... but those are the facts of the matter at this moment."
Information for this article was contributed by Michael Tarm, Kathleen Foody, Don Babwin, Mike Householder, Stephen Groves, Scott Bauer, Rhonda Shafner, Denise Lavoie and Sarah Rankin of The Associated Press.
Mourners gather for a vigil near Central Avenue and St Johns Avenue in downtown Highland Park, Ill. Tuesday, July 5, 2022. (Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
People visit a memorial for those injured and killed in Monday's Fourth of July mass shooting, Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Highland Park, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Lake County, Ill., State's Attorney Eric Rinehart returns to the county courthouse after speaking to reporters at the conclusion of the initial appearance of Robert E. Crimo III Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Waukegan, Ill. Crimo is accused of killing seven people during a mass shooting during a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Two women visit a memorial to those killed and wounded in Monday's Fourth of July mass shooting, Wednesday, July 6, 2022, at a veterans memorial in Highland Park, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak looks at a video screen as he presides over the initial appearance of Robert E. Crimo III at the county courthouse Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Waukegan, Ill. Crimo is accused of killing seven people during a mass shooting during a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Waukegan , Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, Pool)
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak, left, looks at a video screen as he presides over the initial appearance of Robert E. Crimo III at the county courthouse Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Waukegan, Ill. Crimo is accused of killing seven people during a mass shooting during a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Waukegan , Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, Pool)
A memorial to the seven people killed and others injured in Monday's Fourth of July mass shooting grows at a veterans memorial, Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
“There will be many, many more charges coming,” Lake County, Ill., State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart (right) said Wednesday of the case against Robert Crimo III. Rinehart was speaking at a news conference outside the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, Ill., along with Chris Covelli, deputy chief of the Lake County sheriff’s office. (The New York Times/Jamie Kelter Davis)Gallery: Aftermath, Highland Park parade shooting
