A young woman who claims to have been former friends with the suspected Highland Park shooter has spoken out about her regret over how she handled their friendship.
In an interview with The New York Post, the 21-year-old woman named only as Amy revealed that she was former colleagues with the suspect, and even claimed that he "liked" her romantically.
On Monday, the Fourth of July celebrations in Highland Park, Illinois, came to a tragic end when a gunman opened fire on the public from a nearby rooftop at around 10:00AM.
The shooting spree has resulted in the deaths of at least seven people, with dozens more injured.
Following an intense manhunt in the Chicagoland area, police arrested 21-year-old Robert "Bobby" E. Crimo III after naming him as a "person of interest" in connection to the tragedy.
Per The Independent, officials have confirmed that Crimo has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder - with more charges expected to follow. If found guilty, Crimo is expected to serve a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Speaking to The Post on Tuesday, Amy said that she became friends with Crimo after working together for about a month the fast-food establishment Panera back in March 2020.
As their friendship grew, Amy said that Crimo admitted he "liked" her, but that she shot down the chances of them ever dating because of her "strict" parents. "I was like but I don’t date. I can’t date," she said.
But the pair bonded over their love of "anime [and] similar music", she said, adding: "I felt like we’re the same person."
Amy admits that Crimo's connection to Monday's shooting has left her in shock, explaining: "He never told me about his social medias, or his mom, or political views, owning guns or his suicide attempt [...] I never knew about that.
"Looking back I think he wanted to keep it from me."
After Crimo allegedly held back on pursuing his aspirations so that he could continue working with Amy, she says that she stopped talking to him so that he could focus on himself. Although, she claims that this made him angry and that he no longer greeted her in the street when they saw each other.
"I feel like I hurt him," she told The Post. "I feel like I might have been something like a broken glass that stabbed him, that might have hurt him. So I feel guilty that this happened."
Overall, Amy says Crimo is "the last person" she would have expected to commit a crime like this, adding: "I feel like obviously something pushed him to this."
Our thoughts continue to go out to everybody affected by this tragedy.
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