(CNN) — Hours after a shooting disrupted the Highland Park, Illinois, Fourth of July parade, killing six people and injuring dozens more, police have arrested the man they believe was responsible.
Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III, 22, has not yet been formally charged in the shooting, which authorities said they believe he carried out by climbing onto the roof of a nearby business and opening fire on the parade minutes after it began.  sending the marchers fleeing for safety.
He was arrested shortly after police publicly identified him as a “person of interest,” who the FBI said was “wanted for his alleged involvement in the shooting of multiple individuals.” in the Highland Park Independence Day Parade.  Police arrested him near Lake Forest, Illinois, after he led police on a brief chase when a North Chicago police officer attempted a traffic stop.
After his arrest, authorities also referred to Crimo as a “suspect,” a term that, in this case, was “synonymous” with “person of interest,” said Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
Law enforcement officials “processed a significant amount of digital evidence today that helped lead investigators in this direction,” he said.
“This person is believed to be responsible for what happened and the investigation will continue,” Coveli said.
Here’s what we know about him.
He legally obtained the gun used, mayor tells CNN
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering believes the gun used by Monday’s suspected shooter was legally purchased, she told CNN’s Adrienne Broaddus on Tuesday.
Covelli previously said evidence of a firearm was found on the roof of a business near the shooting, describing the weapon as a “high-powered rifle.”  At the time, authorities were working to locate the firearm to learn who bought it and where it came from, according to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesman Kim Nerheim.
A total of 26 patients — ages 8 to 85 — were admitted to Highland Park Hospital, said Dr.  Brigham Temple, medical director of NorthShore University Health System.  Four or five patients were children, Temple said.
Nineteen of the 25 gunshot victims were treated and released, he said.
Posted violent images online
The suspected shooter released music on several major streaming platforms under the moniker Awake the Rapper, and apparently made and posted music videos online with ominous lyrics and animated scenes of gun violence.
In a video titled “Are you Awake”, a cartoon animation of a shooter with a stick is shown that resembles the appearance of the suspect wearing tactical gear and carrying out an attack with a rifle.  Crimo, seen with colorful hair and facial tattoos, recounts: “I just have to do it. It’s my destiny.”
In another video titled ‘Toy Soldier, a similar stick figure resembling the suspect is shown lying face down on the floor in a pool of his blood, surrounded by police officers with guns drawn.
Several of the suspect’s online posts “reflected a plan and a desire to commit a massacre long in advance,” Mayor Rotering said in an interview with NBC’s Hoda Kotb on “Today.
“And it’s one of those things where you step back and say, what happened? How did someone get so angry and hateful,” he said, “to take it out on innocent people who were literally just having a family day?”
His uncle saw no warning signs
Rotering knew the suspect years ago when she was a Cub Scout pack leader, she said, speaking to CNN, “Many years ago, he was just a little boy, a quiet little boy that I knew.”
“It breaks my heart. I see this picture and through the tattoos, I see the little boy,” she said.  “I don’t know what brought him to this point.”
The suspect’s uncle, Paul A. Crimo, was “heartbroken” to learn his nephew was responsible for Monday’s shooting, telling CNN, “There was no indication that I saw that they would have made him do this.”
The suspect lived in an apartment behind a house in Highwood, Illinois, owned by his father, said Paul Crimo, who also lives in the home.  He last saw his nephew Sunday afternoon, he said, sitting on a lounger at home and looking at his computer.
“Everything was normal,” he said.
As far as he knows, Crimo didn’t have a job, Paul Crimo told CNN, although he was working at Panera Bread before the Covid-19 pandemic.  Paul Crimo said he had never seen the suspect engage in violence or disturbing behavior.  He was also unaware of his nephew’s political views, describing him as a “quiet” person.
“He’s usually by himself. He’s a lonely, quiet person. He keeps it all to himself.”
The suspect’s father and Paul Crimo’s brother, Robert Crimo Jr., previously ran for mayor, he said.  “We’re good people here, and to have this is devastating.”
“I’m so heartbroken for all the families that lost their lives,” Paul Crimo said.