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KILLER Robert Crimo III has admitted to murdering seven people and injuring dozens more when he opened fire on an Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb in 2022.
Crimo, 24, shocked the courtroom by pleading guilty to all charges in the horrific shooting just minutes before his trial was scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
On July 4, 2022, then-21-year-old Crimo walked into a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, and opened fire on the crowd.
He faced 69 counts of murder and attempted murder in the mass shooting.
He previously pleaded not guilty and rejected a plea deal last year.
On Monday, he appeared in court in a black suit and changed his plea right before opening statements were set to begin.
The killer, whose face and hands are covered in tattoos, was stone-faced and gave no other statements before leaving the courtroom.
Prosecutors said previously said nearly all of the 48 survivors from the parade were planning to testify during the trial.
Crimo, an aspiring rapper who went by the stage name Awake the Rapper, planned the devastating attack weeks in advance.
On the day of the mass shooting, Crimo opened fire with what cops called a “high-powered rifle” from a rooftop above the parade route that he accessed via a fire escape.
His victims’ ages ranged from eight years old to 88.
After raining down gunfire, Crimo escaped the scene disguised in a wig and wearing women’s clothes.
He went home, where he took his mom’s car and drove to Madison, Wisconsin, cops said.
He was arrested when he got back to Illinois and then reportedly confessed everything to cops.
“He went into details about what he had done,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart told reporters at the time.
“He admitted to what he had done. We don’t want to speculate on the motives right now.”
In late 2023, Crimo’s dad, Robert Crimo Jr., pleaded guilty to seven felony counts of reckless conduct.
He served 60 days in prison for helping his son, 19 at the time, get a gun after the teen had previously made violent threats.
“Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenager should have a weapon,” Rinehart said at the time.
“They are the first line of defense.
Victims of the shooting in Highland Park
Below, find the complete list of the victims of the mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois
- Eduardo Uvaldo, 69
- Katherine Goldstein, 64
- Irina McCarthy, 35
- Kevin McCarthy, 37
- Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63
- Stephen Straus, 88
- Nicolas Toledo-Zargoza, 78
“In this case, that system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son.”
“He knew what he knew, and he signed the form anyway. This was criminally reckless and a contributing cause to the bodily harm suffered by the victims on July 4.”
Victims Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, Eduardo Uvaldo, Katherine Goldstein, Jacquelyn Sundheim, and 88-year-old Stephen Straus were killed in the attack.
Married couple Kevin and Irina McCarthy were also murdered in the parade shooting, leaving their toddler son orphaned.
Crimo’s sentencing is set for April 23.
He’s expected to face life in prison with no possibility of parole.
