Chris Lange, FISM News

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New details have emerged about the “person of interest” arrested in connection to Monday’s mass shooting at an Illinois 4th of July parade.

Robert Crimo, III, 22, remains in police custody as the chief suspect in the sniper-style attack on parade-goers attending the parade in a Highland Park Chicago suburb. Six people were killed and at least 30 were injured as a result of the attack. At some point, officers determined that Crimo was a “person of interest” in connection with the shooting and captured him roughly six hours after the attack without incident.

Following the release of Crimo’s name, reports began to emerge that many say revealed clues that foretold the massacre. 

Several news outlets reported that Robert “Bobby” Crimo, III, is an aspiring Hip Hop artist also known by the stage name “Awake the Rapper.” A YouTube video posted in November of 2021 purportedly shows Crimo reciting a poem or lyrics in which he says he is “like a sleepwalker” that “can’t be stopped.” 

An excerpt of a transcription of the video published in a report by The Post Millennial reads as follows: 

 Like a sleepwalker, I am breaking through no matter what. Like a sleepwalker, unable to stop and think, my actions will be valid, and my thought is unnecessary. I know what I have to do.

It is more abstract than I could ever have imagined. I can feel the atmosphere pushing me in. It’s unstoppable. Like a wave pulling me under, I can’t breathe without it. I can’t see or hear what I don’t want. I need to leave now, I need to just do it.

It is my destiny. Everything has led up to this. Nothing can stop me, not even myself. Is there such a thing as free will? Or has this been planned out, like a cosmic recipe, it is what I’ve been waiting for in the back of my head, ready to be awakened.

The video also features a crude drawing of a person who appears to be holding up a rifle with another person lying on the ground, presumably shot. A third figure appears to be on his or her knees, with both arms raised in the air in a position of surrender. 

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering told the “Today Show” Tuesday that Crimo allegedly used a legally-obtained weapon to carry out the attack and that he was not “previously known to police.” 

“I don’t know where the gun came from, but I do know that it was legally obtained,” Rotering told the NBC News morning show, without elaborating. 

In her capacity as mayor, Rotering banned assault rifles in 2013. 

Rotering also said that she knew Crimo as a Cub Scout from the days she served as a Scout leader years ago. 

“I know him as somebody who was a Cub Scout when I was the Cub Scout leader … He was just a little boy,” she said.

Incidentally, Crimo’s father was once a mayoral candidate whom Rotering defeated.

Rotering said she did not believe Crimo was “previously known to police” before the shooting but indicated that she was aware of his disturbing rap lyrics which, in hindsight, appeared to foretell the massacre. 

“We know that several postings really reflected a plan and a desire to commit carnage for a long time in advance,” she said, adding that he “clearly had a mental breakdown” before carrying out the deadly attack.

Police said the shooting occurred at around 10:15 a.m. during the July 4th parade Monday. Authorities said the alleged gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop using a high-powered rifle. 

Officials said Crimo is “from the area,” without further specificity. Investigators haven’t said publicly what may have motivated the shooter, but initially said the tragic incident appeared to be “completely” random. 

Several cities in Illinois canceled their 4th of July celebrations in response to the attack.