Chris Lange, FISM News

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Highland Park shooting suspect Robert Crimo, III, was charged with seven counts of murder Tuesday, a day after he allegedly opened fire on a crowd of spectators attending the Chicago suburb’s Fourth of July parade. He faces life without parole if convicted. The state attorney’s office says more charges will be filed in the coming days. 

Police now say Crimo, 21, was flagged as a ‘clear and present danger’ in 2019 after police were called to his Highland Parks home on two occasions for threats of violence and suicide, according to an Associated Press report. The information has left many wondering how he then managed to purchase five firearms, including the high-powered rifle allegedly used in the parade shooting. Following Crimo’s arrest, Police confiscated the other guns from his father’s home.

Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said Crimo, who was arrested late Monday, allegedly fired off more than 70 rounds of ammo from the roof of a commercial building using a rifle “similar to an AR-15,” targeting a crowd gathered to watch the parade. Authorities say Crimo fled the scene dressed in women’s clothing, blending into the crowd to avoid detection. He was apprehended by police roughly six hours later. Covelli also said that Crimo planned the attack for several weeks.

Six victims died at the scene and over three dozen were wounded during the attack. A seventh victim succumbed to her injuries Tuesday. Nine people, ranging in age from 14 to 70, remained hospitalized Tuesday, hospital officials said.

Less than three years prior to the July 4 shooting, officers responded to a call from family members who said Crimo threatened “to kill everyone” at a family gathering. Police at the time confiscated 16 knives, a sword, and a dagger from Crimo’s residence but said no guns were present at the time. Police also responded to a reported suicide attempt by Crimo in April 2019.

Covelli said the suspect legally purchased the rifle used in the attack within the last year. Illinois state police said that Crimo applied for a gun license in December 2019, when he was 19. A statement provided by state police said that, at the time, “there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger” that would result in an application denial.

Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed the contents of his social media accounts have been unable to point to a motive for the shooting. They have said that there is no evidence that the suspect targeted specific people based on race or any other protected status, according to Cavelli.

Under Illinois law, gun purchases can be denied to felons, drug addicts, and individuals categorized as “mental defectives” deemed capable of harming themselves or others. The law would likely have prevented Crimo from purchasing a weapon, given his “clear and present danger” flags in 2019; however, the “mental defective” status can only be determined by “a court, board, commission or other legal authority.”

Illinois also has a red-flag law in place, but it requires household members or police to request a firearm seizure.

There have been 15 mass shootings resulting in four or more deaths in the U.S. since the beginning of the year, according to the report which cited an Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University mass killing database.