Investigators believe the suspect had been planning “this attack for several weeks,” Chris Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, said in one of several news conferences Tuesday. The suspect dressed in women’s clothing to help conceal his identity, Covelli said, mingled with the crowds as they left the area and went to his mother’s house. Law enforcement has yet to establish a motive, but Covelli said there was no information to suggest the attack was “racially motivated, religiously motivated or any other protection.” There is no indication that anyone else was involved, Covelli said. The suspect took his mother’s vehicle and a member of the community saw him, Covelli said. That person called 911, and North Chicago Police then conducted a traffic stop and arrested him. He is expected in court Wednesday, and Eric Rinehart, the state’s attorney for Lake County, said he will ask the judge to hold Krimo without bail. Rinehart said “dozens more charges” would be added later. Attorney Thomas Durkin is representing Crimo, he confirmed to CNN. Attorney Steve Greenberg said Tuesday he is representing Crimo’s parents and released a statement attributed to them. “We are all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and this is a terrible tragedy for many families, the victims, the bystanders, the community and our own,” the statement read. “Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to everyone.” FULL COVERAGE OF GUNS Here’s what we know about the suspect:
Police took knives from the home after Crimo said he was going to kill people
In September 2019, Highland Park police went to Crimo’s home after a family member reported that he had said he was going to kill everyone, according to Covelli. “The threat was directed at the family inside the house,” he said. Police seized a collection of bladed items — 16 knives, a dagger and a sword — but made no arrests because there were no signed complaints against Crimo. Highland Park police notified state police of the visit. At the time, involuntary commitment was not an option, Covelli said. Local police filed a “Clear and Present Danger” report about the visit with Illinois State Police, the agency said. “The report indicates that when police went to the home and asked the subject if he felt like harming himself or others, he said no,” state police said in a second statement. “Additionally and importantly, the father claimed the knives were his own and were stored in the subject’s closet for safekeeping. Based on this information, Highland Park Police returned the knives to the father later that afternoon,” state police added . Captain of the State Police. Delilah Garcia said they looked into whether Crimo had a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card (FOID) that should have been revoked, but he didn’t have a card. In a news release, Illinois State Police officials said Crimo in December 2019 applied for a FOID card sponsored by his father. “The subject was under the age of 21 (he was 19) and the application was sponsored by the individual’s father. Therefore, at the time of the review of the FOID application in January 2020, there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the FOID application,” state police said. In April 2019, local police went to the family’s home after receiving a report that Crimo had tried to kill himself a week earlier. Officers spoke with him and his parents and told them mental health professionals were handling the matter, Covelli said. Covelli later said the suspect bought five guns, including two rifles, after the police visit in September.
He legally obtained the gun used, officials say
The suspect legally purchased the gun he used in Monday’s shooting, Covelli said Tuesday, describing it as a “high-powered rifle” that fired high-velocity rounds. The gun, which he described as “similar to an AR-15,” was purchased locally, Covelli said, in the Chicagoland area.
Investigators believe he fired more than 70 rounds during the attack, Covelli said, and there is no indication the gun had been modified.
Crimo also legally purchased a second rifle found in his vehicle at the time of his arrest, as well as other weapons recovered from his home, which Covelli described as handguns.
Between June 2020 and September 2021, Crimo passed four background checks when purchasing firearms. Those background checks were conducted through the Firearm Transaction Investigation Program (FTIP), which includes the National Criminal Background Check System, state police said in a statement.
At the time, the only criminal offense on Crimo’s record was a January 2016 ordinance violation for possession of tobacco, and no mental health ban reports were filed with state police by health care facilities or staff, police said.
According to Chief Dave Wentz, police in Highwood — the suspect’s hometown, just outside Highland Park — had no prior crime-related interactions with Crimo.
The only contact the department has had with Crimo involved a non-criminal incident where Crimo was present when he was a juvenile, Wentz said.
“We literally have nothing on him,” Wentz said. “He was not potentially involved in anything.”
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. Law enforcement authorities are reviewing the videos posted online, Coveli said at Tuesday’s news conference, noting that police had not previously been made aware of them. “We will look at them and see what they reveal.” 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?” YouTube and Spotify have removed content linked to the suspect from their platforms, the companies confirmed on Tuesday. They declined to answer questions about whether the content had previously been flagged or reported for violations of their respective terms of service. The companies also declined to say exactly when they removed the suspect content.
His uncle says he saw no warning signs
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, who knew the suspect when he was the leader of his Cub Scout troop, told 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 Highwood home 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 lounge chair at home and looking at his computer. “Everything was normal,” he said. As far as Paul Crimo knows, his nephew was out of a job, he 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. CNN’s Taylor Romine, Joe Sutton, Jeff Winter, Yahya Abou-Ghazala, David Williams, Rebekah Riess, Brian Fung and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
