The gunman who attacked an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago fired more than 70 rounds with an AR-15-style rifle that killed at least six people, then evaded initial arrest by dressing as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, he said. police on Tuesday.  .
Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference that the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a high-powered rifle “similar to an AR-15” to spray bullets from the atop a commercial building to a crowd gathered for the parade in Highland Park, a tight-knit community on the shores of Lake Michigan that has long attracted the rich and sometimes famous.
More than 30 people were also injured.
Investigators who questioned the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive for the attack or found any indication that the shooter targeted anyone by race, religion or other protected status, Coveli said.
Authorities have not filed criminal charges.
Earlier in the day, FBI agents looked in trash cans and under picnic blankets as they searched for more evidence at the scene where the gunman opened fire.  The shots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of panicked revelers fled in terror.
A day later, baby carriages, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked marchers remained inside a wide police perimeter.  Outside the police tape, some residents drove up to collect blankets and chairs they left behind.
David Shapiro, 47, said the spray of gunfire quickly turned the parade into “chaos.”
“People didn’t immediately know where the shots were coming from, whether the gunman was in front of you or behind you chasing you,” he said Tuesday as he brought out a wheelbarrow and lawn chairs.
The 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 definitely hits a lot harder when it’s not only your hometown, but it’s right in front of you,” said resident Ron Tuazon as he and a friend returned to the parade route Monday afternoon to pick up chairs, blankets and a children’s bike.  family was abandoned when the shooting began.
“It’s common now,” said Touazon.  “We’re not blinking anymore. Until the laws change, it’s going to be more of the same.”
An officer pulled over Robert E. Crimo III north of the shooting scene several hours after police released his photo and warned he was possibly armed and dangerous, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said.
Authorities initially said Crimo, whose father was once a Highland Park mayoral candidate, was 22, but an FBI affidavit and Crimo’s social media listed him as 21.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered American flags flown at half-mast until Saturday as a “mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of gun violence committed on our Independence Day.”
The shooting occurred at a point along the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing spots earlier in the day.
Among them was Nicolas Toledo, who was visiting family in Illinois from Mexico.  He was shot and died at the scene, his granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, told the Chicago Sun-Times.  Also killed was Jacki Sundheim, a lifelong colleague and “beloved” staff member at nearby North Shore Congregation Israel, which announced her death on its website.
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 at her grandfather, who was in his 70s, as a motorcade passed them.
“He was so happy,” she said.  “I’m glad to live in the moment.”
Xochil Toledo said her father tried to shield her grandfather and was shot in the arm.  Her boyfriend was also shot in the back and taken to hospital.
Sundheim had spent decades on the staff of North Shore Church of Israel, teaching in the church’s preschool and later coordinating events, “all with tireless dedication,” the church said in its statement announcing her death.
“Jackie’s work, kindness and warmth touched us all,” the statement said.
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 were children.
Since the beginning of the year, the U.S. has seen 15 shootings where four or more people were killed, including the one in Highland Park, according to the Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University mass killings database.
Highland Park Police Chief Chris O’Neill said the gunman apparently fired from a rooftop where it was “very hard to see him.”  He said the rifle was recovered at the scene.  Police also found a ladder attached to the building.
Covelli said Crimo legally purchased the gun in Illinois last year.
In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on assault weapons and ammunition magazines larger than 10 rounds.  A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association were quick to question the suburban liberal’s stance.  The legal battle ended up on the doorstep of the US Supreme Court in 2015, when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburb’s restrictions remain in place.
Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper under the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting dozens of videos and songs on social media, some ominous and violent.
In an animated video captured by YouTube, Crimo raps about armies “walking in the dark” as a drawing of a man pointing a rifle, a body on the ground, and another figure with hands up in the distance appears.
Crimo’s father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, sought the mayor’s office in 2019, calling himself “a person for the people.”
The community of about 30,000 on Chicago’s affluent North Shore has mansions and sprawling lakeside estates and was once home to NBA legend Michael Jordan.
Shapiro, the Highland Park resident who left the parade with his family, said his 2-year-old son woke up screaming later that night.
“He’s too young to understand what happened. But he knows something bad happened,” Shapiro said.  “That’s creepy.”
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Foody contributed from Chicago and Groves from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Associated Press writers Martha Irvine and Mike Householder in Highland Park.  Mike Balsamo and Bernard Condon in New York.  David Koenig in Dallas.  Jeff Martin in Woodstock, Georgia.  Fabiola Sanchez in Monterrey, Mexico.  and Jim Mustian in New Orleans contributed reporting.