Highlights

• At least 7 people were killed and dozens have been injured in a mass shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park during the Fourth of July Parade.

• The person of interest Robert E Crimo |||, 21 years old, has been arrested.

• The parade began around 10 AM local time but was suddenly halted at around 10:14 AM after shots were fired.

• The shooter was firing with a high-powered rifle from the rooftop of a local store.

• The suspected gunman left a trail of violent imagery online.

A gunman from the rooftop of a local store opened fire on an Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb in Illinois, the US on Monday, 4 July 2022. At least 7 people died, 39 were wounded and hundreds of marchers, parents, and children were traumatized in terror.

The parade began around 10 AM local time, but was suddenly halted at around 10:14 AM after shots were fired. This mass shooting occurred at a place on the parade route. Several people who were attending the parade thought the gunshots were fireworks at first until hundreds of people started running in terror. People grabbing their children and families, abandoning strollers, flags, and chairs just running for their lives.

Victims

7 people were killed during the shooting out of which 5 died at the scene and the other 2 persons died after being transported to the hospital. At least 39 people were treated at hospitals. The health care system stated that at least 25 people had gunshot injuries and patients ranged between the age of 8 to 85 years old. All the victims who died were adults. The shooter randomly fired more than 70 rounds into the crowd, gathered to attend the parade.

The Person of interest posted violent imagery online

Robert Bobby E Crimo |||, the suspected gunman left a long trail of tributes to public killings and mass shootings on social media profiles belongs to him.

Crimo is an amateur rapper who went by the name ‘ Awake the Rapper’ and posted music videos on major social media platforms. Videos he apparently made have ominous-sounding lyrics including depictions of gun violence and mass murder.

In one video an animated character of a stick figure man, resembling Crimo is carrying out an attack with a rifle, in another video animation, the cartoon character resembling Crimo lying in a pool of blood and surrounded by police officers is shown.

Another video shows him sitting in a classroom, pulling on a tactical helmet and draping himself in the American flag. This video appeared to show him in aftermath of a school shooting.

Spotify and YouTube have removed all of his content and suspended the accounts belonging to him.

According to the reports the suspect was dressed in women’s clothing during the attack to conceal his identity. After the massive shooting, he dropped his rifle, exited the roof, and blended in with the crowd to escape the location.

The motive of this mass shooting hasn’t been determined yet and there is no indication that there was anyone else involved in this act of terror, it appears that the suspect acted alone.

The suspect is charged with 7 counts of first-degree murder and many more charges is expected to be anticipated.