Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said Monday afternoon that police have identified 22-year-old Robert E. Crimo III as a person of interest and warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous. Police declined to answer questions about how they identified Crimo. Authorities described his car as a silver Honda Fit with Illinois license plate DM 80653. The 4th of July shooting was just the latest to destroy the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become graveyards in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the nation sought to find cause to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together. “It is devastating that an American holiday has been torn apart by our only American plague,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said at a news conference. “I’m furious because it doesn’t have to be this way … while we only celebrate the Fourth of July once a year, mass shootings have become a weekly — yes, weekly — American tradition.” The shooting occurred at a point along the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing spots early in the day for the annual celebration. Dozens of bullets sent hundreds of marchers fleeing — some visibly covered in blood. They left a trail of abandoned objects that showed everyday life suddenly, violently disrupted: A half-eaten bag of potato chips. a box of chocolate chip cookies spilled on the grass. a child’s Chicago Cubs hat. “There’s no safe place,” said Highland Park resident Barbara Harte, 73, who had stayed away from the parade for fear of a mass shooting but later ventured out of her home. Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference that “several of the deceased victims” died at the scene and one was taken to a hospital where he died. Police have not released details of casualties or injuries. Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said the five people killed at the parade were adults, but she did not have information on the sixth victim who was taken to a hospital where he died. One of the dead was a Mexican national, Roberto Velasco, Mexico’s director of North American affairs, said on Twitter on Monday. He said two other Mexicans were injured. NorthShore University Health Center admitted 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 patients were children. Temple said 19 of them were treated and released. Others were taken to other hospitals, while two patients, in stable condition, remained at Highland Park Hospital. The gunman opened fire around 10:15 a.m., when the parade was about three-quarters of the way through, authorities said. Highland Park Police Chief Chris O’Neill, the incident commander at the scene, said the gunman apparently used a “high-powered rifle” to fire from a point atop a commercial building where it was “very difficult to see him see”. He said the rifle was recovered at the scene. Police also found a ladder attached to the building. “Very random, very intentional and very sad day,” Covelli said. President Joe Biden said Monday that he and first lady Jill Biden were “shocked by the senseless gun violence that has once again brought grief to an American community this Independence Day.” He said he “asked for federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter, who remains at large at this time.” Biden signed the most sweeping gun violence bill passed by Congress in decades, a compromise that immediately signaled progress on a long-intractable issue and the deep partisan divide that persists. Police believe there was only one shooter, but warned he should be considered armed and dangerous. Several nearby towns canceled events, including parades and fireworks, some noting that the Highland Park shooter was still at large. Evanston, Deerfield, Skokie, Waukegan and Glencoe canceled events. The Chicago White Sox also announced on Twitter that a planned postgame fireworks show was canceled due to the shooting. More than 100 law enforcement officers were called to the scene of the parade or dispatched to find the suspected attacker. More than a dozen police officers Monday night surrounded a home listed as Crimo’s address in Highland Park. Some officers held rifles as they fixed their sights on the house. A large armored truck, marked ‘Police Rescue Vehicle’, occupied the middle of the road near the residence. Police blocked off roads leading to the home in a tree-lined neighborhood near a golf course, allowing only select law enforcement cars to pass through a narrow outer perimeter. Highland Park is a close-knit community of about 30,000 people located on the shores of Lake Michigan just north of Chicago, with mansions and sprawling lakefront estates that have long attracted the rich and sometimes famous, including NBA legend Michael Jordan, who lived at City for years when he played for the Chicago Bulls. John Hughes filmed parts of several movies in the city, including “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Sixteen Candles,” and “Weird Science.” Pritzker, a Democrat, pledged support for the community as well as bringing the gunman to justice. “There are no words for the kind of evil that shows up at a public celebration of freedom, hides on a rooftop and shoots innocent people with a gun,” Pritzker said. Ominous signs of a joyous event suddenly turned to horror filled both sides of Central Avenue where the shootings took place. Dozens of baby strollers — some with American flags, abandoned children’s bicycles and a helmet emblazoned with images of Cinderella were left behind. Blankets, lawn chairs, coffees and water bottles were knocked over as people fled. Gina Troiani and her son lined up with her kindergarten class ready to walk the parade route when she heard a loud sound she thought were fireworks — until she heard people yelling for a shooter. In a video Troiani shot on her phone, some of the children are visibly startled by the loud noise and scrambling to the side of the road as a siren wails nearby. “We’re just starting to run in the opposite direction,” he told The Associated Press. Her 5-year-old son had his bike decorated with red and blue curling ribbons. He and other kids on the team held small American flags. The city said on its website that the festivities would include a parade of bicycles and pets for children. Troiani said she pushed her son’s bike, running through the neighborhood to get back to their car. “It was just kind of a mess,” he said. “There were people who were separated from their families and they were looking for them. Others just dropped their wagons, grabbed their children and started running.” Highland Park resident Debbie Glickman said she was in a parade with colleagues and the group was preparing to turn onto the main route when she saw people running from the area. “People started saying, ‘There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter, there’s a shooter,’” Glickman told the AP. “So we just ran. We just ran. It’s like mass chaos down there.” He didn’t hear any noises or see anyone who looked injured. “I’m so terrified,” she said. “It’s so sad.”
Foody contributed from Chicago. Associated Press writers Mike Balsamo in New York, David Koenig in Dallas, Jeff Martin in Woodstock, Georgia and Fabiola Sánchez in Monterrey, Mexico contributed to the report.
