July 4 Parade Shooting in Illinois Leaves 7 People Dead, 30 Hurt; Suspect Detained

A Lake County police officer walks down Central Ave in Highland Park, Ill. on Monday, after a shooter fired on the suburb’s Fourth of July parade. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP)

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP/Hamodia) — A shooter fired on an Independence Day parade from a rooftop in suburban Chicago on Monday, spraying the crowd with gunshots initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of panicked revelers of all ages fled in terror. At least six people were killed, including two Jews, and at least 30 people were wounded.


An hours-long manhunt during which residents hunkered down in businesses or received police escorts to their homes ended with a traffic stop and brief chase Monday evening, when authorities detained a man they described as a person of interest. They gave no motive for the attack in Highland Park, a close-knit community on the shores of Lake Michigan that has long drawn the rich and sometimes famous.


The July 4 shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life. Schools, houses of worship, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months.


“It definitely hits a lot harder when it’s not only your hometown but it’s also right in front of you,” resident Ron Tuazon said as he and a friend returned to the parade route Monday evening to retrieve chairs, blankets and a child’s bike that he and his family abandoned when the shooting began.


“It’s commonplace now,” Tuazon said. “We don’t blink anymore. Until laws change, it’s going to be more of the same.”


The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day for the annual celebration.


Among the victims were Jacki Sundheim, a lifelong congregant and staff member at nearby North Shore Congregation Israel, which announced her death on its website, and another Jewish person whose name has not been announced.

Also killed was Nicolas Toledo, who was visiting his family in Illinois from Mexico. He was shot and died at the scene, his granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, told the Chicago Sun-Times.


Over 70 bullets sent hundreds of parade-goers — some visibly injured — fleeing. They left a trail of abandoned items that showed everyday life suddenly, violently disrupted: a box of chocolate cookies spilled onto the grass; a child’s baseball cap; baby strollers, some bearing American flags.


“There’s no safe place,” said Highland Park resident Barbara Harte, 73, who had stayed away from the parade fearing a mass shooting, but later ventured from her home.


Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said a police officer pulled over Robert E. Crimo III about 5 miles north of the shooting scene, several hours after police released the man’s photo and warned that he was likely armed and dangerous. Crimo is answering questions from investigators and has made statements taking responsibility for the attack, law enforcement sources tell ABC News.

Police say that the gunman had planned the attack weeks in advance.


Authorities initially said Crimo, whose father once ran for mayor of Highland Park, was 22, but an FBI bulletin and Crimo’s social media said he was 21.


Police declined to immediately identify Crimo as a suspect, but said identifying him as a person of interest, sharing his name and other information publicly was a serious step.


Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference “several of the deceased victims” died at the scene and one died at a hospital. Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said the five people killed at the parade were adults, but didn’t have information on the sixth.


Police have not released details about the victims, but Toledo’s granddaughter told the Sun-Times that Toledo had spent most of his life in Morelos, Mexico. Xochil Toledo said she remembers looking over at her grandfather, who was in his late 70s, as a band passed them.


Xochil Toledo said her father tried to shield her grandfather and was shot in the arm; her friend also was shot in the back and taken by someone to a nearby hospital because they weren’t sure there would be enough ambulances for all the victims.


Roberto Velasco, Mexico’s director for North American affairs, said on Twitter that two Mexicans were also wounded.


NorthShore University Health Center received 26 patients after the attack. All but one had gunshot wounds, said Dr. Brigham Temple, medical director of emergency preparedness. Their ages ranged from 8 to 85, and Temple estimated that four or five were children.


Since the start of the year, there have been 15 shootings where four or more people have been killed, including the Highland Park one, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University mass shooting database.


As is common on holiday weekends, nearby Chicago grappled with scores of shootings. Eight people died from shootings in the city over the July 4 weekend, according to the police department. Sixty others were shot.


However, the city saw fewer people shot than during last year’s Independence Day weekend.


The parade shooter opened fire around 10:15 a.m., when the parade was about three-quarters through, authorities said.


Highland Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill, the incident commander on scene, said the gunman apparently used a “high-powered rifle” to fire from a spot atop a commercial building where he was “very difficult to see.” He said the rifle was recovered at the scene. Police also found a ladder attached to the building. A second weapon, also purchased legally by Crimo, was later found in the suspect’s car, police said.


Teams of FBI agents on Tuesday peeked into trash cans, looked under picnic blankets and scoured Highland Park’s Central Avenue as they searched for evidence at the site of the shooting. Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering told NBC that she did not know where the gun came from but that it was “legally obtained.”


President Joe Biden on Monday said he and first lady Jill Biden were “shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day.”
In recent days, Biden signed the widest-ranging gun violence bill passed by Congress in decades, a compromise that reflected agreement on a long-intractable issue and the deep-seated partisan divide that persists.


Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring singer, posting on social media dozens videos and songs, some ominous and violent.


In one animated video posted online and since removed, Crimo sings about armies “walking in darkness” as a drawing depicting gun violence appears.


Crimo’s father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Highland Park in 2019, calling himself “a person for the people.”


The community of about 30,000 on Chicago’s north shore has mansions and sprawling lakeside estates.
Gina Troiani and her 5-year-old son were lined up with his daycare class ready to walk onto the parade route when she heard a loud sound that she believed was fireworks — until she heard people yell about a shooter.


“We just start running in the opposite direction,” she told The Associated Press. “There were people that got separated from their families, looking for them. Others just dropped their wagons, grabbed their kids and started running.”


Crimo was seen in a local Chabad house during Pesach this year, and was made to leave when he acted suspiciously.

“During the last Passover holiday, that person entered the Chabad synagogue,” Rabbi Yosef Schanowitz was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel. “We have an armed security guard sitting in front… I approached him and sternly asked him to leave as I noticed he was not a member of our community.”

In this still image from video, a man runs for cover with a child in a stroller after gunfire was heard at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. (Lynn Sweet/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
Terrified parade-goers fled Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade after shots were fired, leaving behind their belongings as they sought safety, Monday, July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Ill. (Lynn Sweet/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

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