What we know about the person of interest in Highland Park shooting
▶ Watch Video: Highland Park mayor provides update on deadly Fourth of July shooting
Hours after a gunman opened fire on a suburban Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, killing six people and wounding two dozen, police detained a man they identified as a person of interest, Robert Crimo III. He has not been officially charged in the attack.
Investigators say the gunman shot at parade-goers from a rooftop at around 10:15 a.m. as the community celebrated Independence Day. A “high-powered rifle” was recovered at the scene, police said. The suspect was initially described as a young White man with long dark hair.
A few hours later, authorities publicly identified Crimo as the man being sought and released a photo. Police have not said what exactly led them to identify Crimo as a person of interest in the shooting.
He was taken into custody Monday evening after police said he led them on a brief chase in his Honda Fit.
Police said Crimo, who is known as Bobby, is 22 but the FBI and Crimo’s apparent social media gave his age as 21.
On Monday afternoon, police and FBI surrounded the family’s home in Highwood, just north of Highland Park. Neighbors told CBS Chicago that Crimo lived there with his father and uncle. His uncle said Crimo stayed in an apartment in the back.
His father, a deli owner, ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Highland Park in 2019. Crimo’s uncle Paul said he hadn’t noticed any signs that his nephew might commit violence.
“There was no indication at all,” Paul Crimo told CBS Chicago. “There was no indication that I’ve seen at all that would lead up to this.”
He said he was “heartbroken” by the attack.
“I can’t even believe it right now. (I’m) praying for all the families and for everybody that got injured and hurt,” he said.
Bobby Crimo also went by the stage name Awake the Rapper and posted content online that included violent imagery. On a now-deleted YouTube page, some of his videos featured his hometown, and others including animated scenes of gun violence. In one video that depicts gun violence, he can be heard saying, “I need to leave now. I need to just do it. It is my destiny.”
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said in an interview Tuesday on “CBS Mornings” that she knew Crimo as a child.
“I was his Cub Scout pack leader. He was a little boy at the time. My heart breaks for everybody in this town,” Rotering said. “I’m not sure what happened to him to compel him to commit this kind of evil in his hometown, but we have a city that is in deep mourning today and we are going to take a long time to heal from all of this.”