HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. – The gunman who opened fire at a Fourth of July parade Monday morning in a Chicago suburb legally obtained the weapon used in the shooting, the city’s mayor said.
“I don’t know where the gun came from, but I do know that it was legally obtained,” Nancy Rotering, the mayor of Highland Park, Illinois, said in an interview with the “Today” show Tuesday morning.
The city has an assault weapons ban, “Today” reported.
The update came less than 24 hours after a gunman armed with “a high-powered rifle” began shooting from the roof of a building, killing six people and wounding at least two dozen others during Highland Park’s Independence Day parade, police said. Later Monday, police arrested a person of interest, 21-year-old Robert E. “Bobby” Crimo, in connection with the shooting, which police described as “random” but “intentional,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
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Although Crimo hasn’t officially been charged, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said Monday that authorities were using the terms “suspect” and “person of interest” interchangeably and that they believe Crimo was responsible for the shooting, according to the Sun-Times.
Fourth of July parade shooting: Suspect in custody after 6 killed, dozens injured in Illinois
“At the moment, we’re waiting for the charges to be levied against the individual,” Rotering said Tuesday. “And frankly, my greater focus this morning, as the sun is rising, is how my community is feeling – the unbelievable sadness, the unbelievable shock. This tragedy never should have arrived at our doorsteps. And as a small town, everybody knows somebody who was affected by this directly, and of course, we’re all still reeling.”
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Rotering also told “Today” that she knew Crimo when he was a child.
“I don’t believe he was previously known to police until yesterday,” she said. “I know him as somebody who was a Cub Scout when I was the Cub Scout leader. And it’s one of those things where you step back and you say, ‘What happened? How did somebody become this angry, this hateful to then take it out on innocent people who literally were just having a family day out?’”
People gather for a candelight vigil near the scene of a mass shooting the day before at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
A candelight vigil is held near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
People add strips of cloth with names and phrases memorializing the victims at a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, near the scene of a mass shooting during a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
People light candles during a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
People gather for a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
Hillary Heller, Shannon Rowe and Lucy Heller embrace near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
People arrive for a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
People add strips of cloth with names and phrases memorializing the victims at a vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
Orange ribbons adorn the area of a candelight vigil near the scene of a mass shooting yesterday at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
A couple goes to lay flowers near the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
A couple goes to lay flowers near the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 5, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
A woman wipes tears after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Empty chairs are seen on the street after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Law enforcement search in a building after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A Law enforcement officer conducts a search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A woman looks outside from her home after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Law enforcement conduct a search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A man carries his belongings after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Students are escorted by police officers as they cross under police tape after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
American flags are pictured after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Empty chairs, a bicycle and a stroller are seen after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
Chairs and blankets are left abandoned after a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
A Fourth of July parade-goer runs for cover after gunfire was heard at the parade Monday morning, July 4, 2022, in a suburb of Chicago.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
Empty chairs sit along the sidewalk after parade-goers fled Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade after shots were fired, Monday, July 4, 2022 in Chicago.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.
Terrified parade-goers fled Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade after shots were fired, leaving behind their belongings as they sought safety, Monday, July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Ill.
