The father of the suspected Highland Park shooter will also be criminally investigated in connection to the Fourth of July shooting that left seven people dead.
On July 4 - as the people of Highland Park, Illinois, gathered along Central Avenue to celebrate the town's Independence Day celebrations - gunshots rang out from a nearby rooftop shortly after 10:00AM.
Christopher Covelli, a spokesperson for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, described the attack as "intentional" - with the shooter choosing their victims at "random".
As of this writing, seven people have died as a result of the tragedy, with dozens more injured.
Shortly after the attack, 21-year-old Robert "Bobby" E. Crimo III was apprehended by police near Lake Forest, Illinois. Officials have confirmed that Crimo has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder - with more charges expected to follow.
Now, The Guardian has reported that the 21-year-old's father, Robert Crimo Jr, will also face an investigation after reportedly signing an affidavit supporting his son’s application for a gun license
Police say the father sponsored his son’s firearm owner application back in 2019.
In 2020, Crimo III purchased a AR-15-style weapon - the same weapon he is accused of using in the July 4 attack.
In the state of Illinois, in order to legally own a gun, individuals usually need to obtain a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID). If a person is under the age of 21, the individual must obtain written consent from a parent or legal guardian who is also eligible for a FOID card.
By providing this written consent, the parent or guardian can be held responsible for "any damages resulting from the minor applicant’s use of firearms or firearm ammunition", per The Guardian.
NBC News reports that when Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly was asked if Crimo's parents face any criminal consequences as a result of their son's attack, Kelly said it was too soon to say.
“There’s probably going to be civil litigation. There is ongoing criminal prosecution and criminal investigation," Kelly said on Wednesday. "Issues of culpability, liability, who may have responsibility in certain circumstances, are all part and parcel of that process.
"Making a conclusionary statement, the Illinois State Police, weighing in on that, is not appropriate."
Kelly added: "That determination and the answer to that question is something that will have to be decided in the court."
Despite his father saying that he never viewed his son as a threat to the public, ABC News reports that authorities recently revealed that back in 2019, police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger, and a sword from Crimo III's home after a family member alleged he "was going to kill everyone".
In an interview with The New York Post, Robert Crimo Jr described the 2019 incident as just a "childish outburst".
Elsewhere in the interview, Crimo Jr says that the July 4 attack left him "speechless" and "took [him] by such surprise".
Saying that he "essentially lost a son" on that day, the father says he wants his son to face "a long sentence".
"That’s life. You know you have consequences for actions," the father said. "He made a choice. He didn’t have to do that. I think there’s mental illness there, obviously...I didn’t see a lot of it."
Crimo III is currently scheduled to appear in court on July 28. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
Our thoughts continue to go out to everybody affected by this tragedy.
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