Parade shooting suspect considered 2nd attack, police say

The man charged with killing seven people at a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb seriously considered committing a second shooting in Wisconsin afterward, police said on Wednesday.

Robert E. Crimo, 21, fled to Madison, Wisconsin, where he considered shooting at another event, Lake County Major Crime Task Force deputy chief Christopher Covelli told reporters on Wednesday.

Crimo then returned to Illinois and was apprehended in Lake Forest, 8 kilometers north of Highland Park, where the mass shooting took place.

"He seriously contemplated using the firearm he had in his vehicle to commit another shooting," said Covelli, adding that the rifle had about 60 more rounds.

"We don't have information to suggest he planned on driving to Madison initially to commit another attack. We do believe that he was driving around following the first attack and saw the celebration."

Covelli said it is not yet clear why Crimo did not carry out another attack, but said "indications are that he hadn't put enough thought and research into it".

Authorities said they believe Crimo planned the attack in Highland Park for weeks and dressed in women's clothing to blend into the crowd when he fled.

Hours before his arrest, police warned that the gunman was still at large and that he should be considered armed and dangerous. Several nearby cities canceled events such as parades and fireworks.

Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said investigators told the judge at Wednesday's bond hearing that Crimo fired one full clip of 30 rounds, reloaded, continued firing, and reloaded a third time.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Ben Dillon said in court that the gunman left the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines on the rooftop in Highland Park.

Dillon said Crimo confessed to the shooting after his arrest on Monday evening.

A Lake County judge ordered him held without bail.

Covelli said some of the wounded remained hospitalized in critical condition, and the death toll could still rise. Police said on Tuesday that at least 45 people were injured or killed during the shooting.

Authorities said they expect to file dozens more charges against Crimo, who faces seven counts of first-degree murder. If convicted, Crimo would face life in prison without parole.

Motive unclear

Investigators who reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other status, Covelli said.

But reports of the suspect's past encounters with police raised questions about how the suspect could legally purchase five weapons under Illinois' relatively strict gun laws.

Despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, the suspect was still legally able to purchase weapons, including the high-powered rifle he used during the parade shooting.

Meanwhile, the police chief and mayor in Richmond, Virginia, said on Wednesday that a tip-off given through a phone call prevented a potential mass shooting in that city during Fourth of July celebrations.

The person who provided the tipoff overheard a conversation that a mass shooting was being planned for the celebration at the Dogwood Dell amphitheater and called the police with that information on Friday, said Richmond police chief Gerald Smith during a news conference.

Smith said that on the day police received the tip, they went to a house in Richmond, where they found two assault rifles, one handgun and 223 rounds of ammunition.

One man was arrested on Friday and a second person was arrested on Tuesday, Smith said. Both have been charged with being noncitizens in possession of firearms and are being held without bond at the Richmond City Jail.