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(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — Before Nancy Rotering was mayor of Highland Park, she served her suburban community in another way: as a Cub Scout leader. One of the members of her troop was Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, the alleged gunman accused of opening fire on a Fourth of July parade, killing seven residents and injuring at least 30 others.

“I hadn’t seen him in probably 15 years. But, you know, at the time I knew him he was a little boy,” the mayor said Thursday in an interview with ABC News Live. “I’m not sure what has happened in his life that brought him to this point.”

The mayor noted that despite Highland Park’s relatively strict gun laws, the suspect was able to travel outside his hometown to legally purchase firearms.

“He didn’t buy this gun in Highland Park,” she said. “We need better laws throughout, not just the state of Illinois, but throughout our nation.”

Rotering said she attended her first vigil on Wednesday evening, hours after Crimo appeared in court for the first time. Authorities say he confessed to the massacre and that he had contemplated another attack the same day in Madison, Wisconsin.

Authorities said he “had not done enough planning,” and decided not to go through with the Wisconsin attack.

Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, and Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said more charges are expected.

The mayor said that while she believes the suspect deserves a life behind bars, she’s “not sure there will ever be justice in this case.”

As the funerals will soon begin for the victims, and as many remain in the hospital being treated for serious gunshot wounds, she described her suburban neighborhood outside of Chicago as completely shattered.

Rotering said this massacre has severely affected the mental health of the entire city, especially those who witnessed the attack and are mourning loved ones.

“It’s any time I’m walking down the street, we are hugging, we’re crying. People are gathering around what is still an active investigation, saying it’s brought such an unbelievably deep wound into the heart of our community,” she said. “No city should have to go through this.”

The mayor, who led the parade, said the holiday will now always be remembered as a day of tragedy. She said that until there is change on a national level many more celebrations will be turned into violence.

“We are a small ship in an ocean of a lot of guns,” she said. “This country needs to have a true reckoning of: Is this how we really want to remember our Independence Day? As a day of massacre and gun violence? Because this will be brought up every Fourth of July from now on.”

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(NEW YORK) — The New York City Police Department said Thursday that murders and shootings are down in the city, despite three people being killed within an hour the night before.

In June, murders were down 12% compared to the same period last year and shootings decreased by 13% last month compared to June 2021, the department said.

“This is real, tangible progress against violence in this city,” New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said during a press conference.

Three homicides rocked the city in three different boroughs on Wednesday.

A 37-year-old man was killed by a suspect who rode up to his Jeep Grand Cherokee on a bicycle and opened fire in Brooklyn, authorities said. A 31-year-old female driver, believed to be a relative, attempted to drive away but blacked out and crashed the vehicle. She was not struck by the gunfire, according to police.

A 32-year-old man was also fatally shot in the backseat of his car outside his home in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, police say. A 28-year-old man later walked into Jamaica Medical Center, saying he was also shot. He is in stable condition, authorities say.

In the Bronx, a 30-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in the Baychester section of the borough, according to police. He jumped into a livery vehicle and attempted to drive away but crashed into a pole. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police say.

The motive for the stabbing is unclear, according to police.

No arrests have been made in any of the killings, police say.

The NYPD said that overall crime in New York City increased over 31% last month compared to June 2021. Rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny auto were all up year-over-year.

From Monday night into Tuesday morning, 21 people were injured in shootings across the city, authorities reported.

Sewell admitted that the increase in crime and the recent spate of shootings may lead people to believe that New York City is very dangerous but said the “perception among criminals is that there are no consequences for their actions.”

In March, the department recruited specially trained police officers and deployed them in neighborhoods across the city as part of its new Neighborhood Safety Teams. According to the NYPD, NST has removed 150 illegal guns from neighborhoods around the city.

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(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — Police have been called to the home of the alleged Highland Park parade shooter “a number of times” since 2002, Lake County Police Deputy Chief Chris Covelli tells ABC News.

Lake County police were called for various reasons, mostly domestic-related. Very few incidents involved the suspected shooter, 21-year-old Robert Crimo III, according to Covelli.

Documents released by the city Thursday show that in one instance, police conducted a well-being check on April 29, 2019, a week after Crimo “attempted to commit suicide by machette [sic].”

Crimo “has a history of attempts,” the police report stated while noting that the then-18-year-old did not make any threats against himself or others on the day of the visit.

Police returned to the home several months later, on Sept. 5, 2019, for another well-being check after Crimo “had made a threat in the household … that he was going to kill everyone,” according to the police report.

Officers seized a 24-inch “Samurai-type blade,” a 12-inch dagger and 16 hand knives belonging to Crimo’s father, according to the report.

Other records show that police responded to the home following reports of domestic disturbances, including verbal alteractions, on multiple occasions between 2009 and 2014.

Crimo is accused of opening fire at an Independence Day parade, killing seven people and injuring dozens of others. The suspect plotted another attack in Madison, Wisconsin, authorities said Wednesday, but did not follow through.

Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in the wake of Monday morning’s mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. More charges are expected, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said.

According to prosecutors, Crimo confessed to the shooting.

State police said Wednesday there will be an investigation into the culpability of Crimo’s father, who signed a consent form for his son to apply for gun ownership in 2019, in the massacre.

His father, Bobby Crimo Jr., told ABC News he is not culpable in the July 4 attack.

ABC News’ Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

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(AUSTIN, Texas) — Kaitlin Armstrong, a suspect in the murder of professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson, changed her appearance and used several aliases after fleeing to Costa Rica, federal authorities said Thursday.

Armstrong, 34, was arrested on June 29 at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas after a 43-day search, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. She has since been deported and returned to the U.S., where she was booked on Tuesday in Travis County Jail by the Austin Police Department.

Armstrong was charged with felony first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Wilson, 25, in Austin on May 11. Wilson was romantically linked to Armstrong’s boyfriend, professional cyclist Colin Strickland, and was found shot hours after meeting up with him, police said.

Days after being questioned by police about the incident, Armstrong, a yoga instructor and realtor, fled Austin, authorities said.

During a press briefing Thursday, authorities detailed the hunt for the fugitive, which had been upgraded to “major case status” by the U.S. Marshals.

Investigators learned through a confidential source that the suspect was provided transportation to Newark Liberty International Airport on May 18, a day after Austin police officers issued a homicide warrant for her arrest, the U.S. Marshals said. She boarded a flight that day to San Jose, Costa Rica, using a fraudulent passport, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla.

Armstrong “presented a passport that did not belong to her but belonged to someone that was closely associated with her,” Filla told reporters during a briefing Thursday.

Upon arriving in Costa Rica, Armstrong used several different aliases, including the name Beth Martin, at various lodgings and yoga studios, according to Filla.

“She was really trying to build something where she could instruct yoga there in Costa Rica,” Filla said.

Investigators went door-to-door, tracking Armstrong “from yoga establishment to other yoga estalishments” and spoke to lodgings that she had “left behind” as they closed in on her, Filla said.

Authorities eventually detained Armstrong at the Don Jon’s hostel on Santa Teresa Beach on an immigration violation for the fraudulent use of a passport, and she was transported back to San Jose, Filla said. During the six-hour drive she “eventually confessed to her true identity,” Filla said.

Armstrong had altered her physical appearance — dying her long, light brown hair a darker shade of brown and cropping it to shoulder length — and had a bandage on her nose, according to Filla.

When asked if they believe that Armstrong may have obtained plastic surgery, Filla said they have been unable to confirm that at this time.

“I will say, she had a bandage on her nose with a little bit of discoloration under her eyes,” he said. “Her statement was that it came from a surfboard incident, and I think we’ll just leave it at that.”

Filla said authorities are investigating the use of the fraudulent passport and won’t be commenting further at this time on any assistance they believe she had.

Authorities were offering a combined $21,000 for any tips leading to Armstrong’s arrest and received over 80 tips nationwide, Filla said.

Armstrong is currently being held at Travis County Jail on a $3.5 million bond. A hearing in a Travis County criminal court has been scheduled for July 20, court records show.

Armstrong’s attorney, Rick Cofer, said in a statement Saturday that “neither Kaitlin nor her attorneys will be making any statements to the media at this time.”

Following Thursday’s briefing, Strickland said he was “grateful that investigators, including the U.S. Marshals, have pursued all leads and opened the path to justice for Moriah Wilson and her family.”

“I will continue to provide my full cooperation for the sake of the Wilson family as they, along with so many others who have been affected, endure the burden of this senseless tragedy,” he said in a statement.

ABC News’ Lisa Sivertsen contributed to this report.

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(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Defense attorneys for the white teenager charged with killing 10 Black people in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in what prosecutors described as a racially motivated mass shooting are considering a psychiatric defense.

During a status hearing for 18-year-old Payton Gendron Thursday afternoon in Erie County Court in Buffalo, the defense requested an extension to complete a psychiatric evaluation, according to ABC News Buffalo affiliate WKBW.

The suspect’s attorney said they are not sure if that defense will be used but want time to complete an evaluation, WKBW reported.

Judge Susan Eagan gave the defense 90 days to file a notice of a psychiatric defense, according to WKBW. She also denied another motion by the defense seeking to delay the state prosecution for one year while a separate federal case proceeds, WKBW reported.

Gendron is next scheduled to appear in Erie County Court on Oct. 6. He previously pleaded not guilty to a 25-count indictment, including 10 first-degree murder charges and three attempted murder charges stemming from the May massacre at a Tops market.

The teen is the first person in New York history to face a charge of domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate in the first degree, a crime enacted in the state in November 2020. If found guilty of that charge, Gendron faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn said during a news conference last month.

Gendron is also charged with 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime and one count of criminal possession of a weapon.

The charges against Gendron reflect the white supremacist rhetoric and invective law enforcement sources told ABC News investigators was found on social media posts linked to the suspect, including a belief in the racist conspiracy theory known as replacement.

Gendron is accused of fatally shooting the six women and four men inside a Tops supermarket on May 14 “because of the perceived race and/or color” of the victims, according to the indictment. He also allegedly shot and wounded three people.

Flynn noted last month that two of the three victims who survived the shooting are white, but that attempted murder charges with a hate crime enhancement were filed on behalf of all the wounded victims because of Gendron’s “alleged intent.”

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said last month that at one point during the attack, Gendron allegedly aimed his AR-15-style rifle at a white Tops employee, who was shot in the leg and injured. Garland alleged that Gendron apologized to the victim before continuing the attack.

Investigators allege Gendron drove three hours from his home in Conklin, New York, and spent the day before the rampage conducting a final reconnaissance on the store before committing the mass shooting on a Saturday afternoon.

Authorities allege Gendron was wielding a Bushmaster XM rifle, dressed in military fatigues, body armor and was wearing a tactical helmet with a camera attached when he stormed the store around 2:30 p.m., shooting four people outside the business and nine others inside. Police said the suspect fired a barrage of more than 50 shots during the massacre.

Gendron allegedly livestreamed the attack on the gaming website Twitch before the company took down the live feed two minutes into the shooting.

Among those killed was 55-year-old Aaron Salter Jr., a retired Buffalo police officer who was working as a security guard at the supermarket. Authorities said Salter fired at the gunman, but the bullets had no effect due to the bulletproof vest the suspect wore.

Gendron was also charged last month with 26 federal counts, including 10 counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death; three counts of committing a hate crime involving an attempt to kill; 10 counts of using a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence; and three counts of using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

During his first appearance in federal court on June 16, a magistrate judge urged federal prosecutors to quickly decide whether to seek the death penalty for Gendron, citing the expense to taxpayers of defending a death-eligible defendant. Prosecutors told the judge they will inform their superiors of his request, but a decision has yet to be announced on whether federal prosecutors will seek capital punishment.

During his first appearance in federal court on June 16, a magistrate judge urged federal prosecutors to quickly decide whether to seek the death penalty Gendron, citing the expense to taxpayers of defending a death-eligible defendant. Prosecutors told the judge they will inform their superiors of his request, but a decision has yet to be announce on whether federal prosecutors will seek capital punishment.

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(AKRON, Ohio) — Two relatives of police shooting victims were arrested Wednesday in Akron, Ohio, on rioting charges for allegedly protesting the police shooting of Jayland Walker.

Jacob Blake Sr., the father of Jacob Blake — as well as Bianca Austin, a relative of Breonna Taylor — were arrested on first-degree misdemeanor rioting charges, ABC Affiliate WEWS found.

Wednesday night was the first without a curfew since the body camera footage of Walker’s death was published. Walker, a 25-year-old Black man, was reportedly unarmed when eight Ohio officers opened fire on him on June 27, fatally shooting him after a traffic stop turned into a pursuit.

Akron police allege that Walker shot at them before he exited his car and ran away from police. A gun was recovered in the car, according to officials.

The officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation being led by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The shooting sparked protests similar to those that erupted after other incidents of police violence that also made national headlines — including Blake’s and Taylor’s.

Blake was shot seven times by a white police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in an incident that left him partially paralyzed. No police officers were charged in Blake’s shooting, with Kenosha County District Attorney Michael D. Graveley saying that he did not believe “the State could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Sheskey was not acting lawfully in self-defense or defense of others.”

Taylor was fatally gunned down when three Louisville, Kentucky, police officers executed a “no-knock” search warrant on her home. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he thought they were intruders and shot at the officers, who returned fire with more than 25 bullets, killing Taylor.

No police officers were charged directly for Taylor’s death after a grand jury declined to charge any officers.

“According to Kentucky law, the use of force by [the officers] was justified to protect themselves,” Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said at the time. “This justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Miss Breonna Taylor’s death.”

Both of these incidents prompted protests nationwide as they collided with other incidents of police violence such as the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Blake Sr. and Austin were not together when they were arrested. The two were arraigned Thursday morning and its unclear if they have offered pleas to the charges.

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(PARK RIDGE, Ill.) — The family of a 14-year-old boy who was allegedly pinned down by an off-duty Chicago Police officer in Park Ridge, Illinois, is speaking about the incident that was caught on cellphone camera.

“We see the bias in an off-duty officer taking advantage of our brown boy, with afro hair, smaller in stature, choosing to take the law into his own hands with physical force — a clear abuse of his position of authority — the authority meant to PROTECT my son, not harm him,” Angel and Nicole Nieves, parents of the boy, said in a press release sent to ABC News.

On the afternoon of July 1, a man who Park Ridge police have identified as a CPD sergeant in the video put his knee on the teen’s back for about 15 seconds, according to cellphone footage taken by a friend of the teen. It is unclear what happened before the video was captured on camera but the family’s legal team says the teen was just trying to move the bike out of his way.

Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski told ABC News that the officer believed the teen had stolen his son’s bike. The bike was apparently stolen from a local library before the incident, according to police.

Kaminski confirmed that the teen had a bike of his own. He also said that officials now have images of the person who did steal the bike, saying that it was likely abandoned by the culprit where the incident between the teen and officer occurred.

The Nieves’ legal team said that the teen had touched the bike because it was on the sidewalk and he was trying to pass by it with his own bike.

The family’s legal team also said the teen will remain unnamed. Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, a national personal injury firm primarily based in Chicago, is representing the family for any potential litigation.

The teen’s friends kept telling the officer to get off the boy and helped him up from the ground, according to the footage.

Chicago Police told ABC News that there is an internal investigation concerning the incident and officials cannot comment further. The officer’s name has not been released. The police union has not responded to ABC News’ requests for comment.

The boy’s parents are calling for accountability from the officer, including releasing the officer’s name and filing criminal charges for his conduct involving a child.

The Nieves family says their son is a straight-A student, a three-sport athlete and is active in his church youth ministry.

“It’s ironic that the type of person we are raising our boys to be — thoughtful, respectful young men who are quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger — is the opposite of the example this Chicago police officer set,” they said.

According to WLS, the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability is also investigating the incident. The Park Ridge police are also investigating alongside the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, according to WLS.

Neither agency has responded to ABC News’ requests for comment.

“The off-duty officer used excessive force on a child and escalated the situation where this type of aggression was clearly not necessary,” said Bhavani K. Raveendran, an attorney at Romanucci & Blandin.

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(St. PAUL, Minn.) — Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 21 years in prison on federal civil rights charges Thursday in the death of George Floyd.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges but in December 2021, he pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights and admitted that he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even after he became unresponsive.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson made the final decision.

In April 2021, Chauvin was also found guilty on three counts in Floyd’s death — second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter — for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes.

He has already been sentenced to 270 months, minus time served, which equals about 22-and-a-half years in prison.

Former officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were also charged for their role in Floyd’s death.

The three of them had pleaded not guilty but were convicted by a jury.

The four former officers were attempting to place Floyd under arrest on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a convenience store.

During the encounter, Chauvin held his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes. Floyd, who was handcuffed and in a prone position on the pavement, repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe before falling unconscious and losing a pulse, according to evidence presented at Chauvin’s state trial. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Thao and Kueng now await a state trial for charges of aiding and abetting in murder and aiding and abetting in manslaughter in Floyd’s death. The two have pleaded not guilty.

The trial is set to start on Oct. 24.

Thomas Lane pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in exchange for the dismissal of the top charge against him of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder.

Under the agreement, a sentence of 36 months, or three years in prison, will be recommended by both prosecutors and Lane’s legal team. If he went to trial and was convicted on both counts, he could have faced a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, according to the plea agreement.

 

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(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — The father of the alleged Highland Park parade shooter has told ABC News that he is not culpable in the Independence Day attack, in spite of having signed a consent form for his son to apply for gun ownership.

“I had no — not an inkling, warning — that this was going to happen,” Bobby Crimo Jr. told ABC News about the Fourth of July attack his son, Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, allegedly carried out in Highland Park, Illinois. “I am just shocked.”

Crimo claims both he and his wife asked their son just days before if he had any plans for the holiday. “He said ‘no.’ That was it,” Crimo recalled.

Crimo says he spent nearly an hour with his son in his yard the night before the attack talking about the planet. “Great mood,” he remembered. “I’m just shocked.”

Crimo says he never saw his son as a danger to anyone, but authorities recently disclosed at least one past instance in which his son allegedly threatened violence. In 2019, police in Highland Park confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from the suspect’s home after a family member called claiming he “was going to kill everyone.”

Crimo III is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and more charges are expected, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said. Prosecutors said that Crimo III confessed to Monday morning’s parade massacre. He did not enter a plea during a bond hearing on Wednesday.

“Making threats to the family … I think [that was] taken out of context,” Crimo said about authorities’ description of the 2019 incident. “It’s like just a child’s outburst, whatever he was upset about, and I think his sister called the police — I wasn’t living there.” Crimo said police removed his son’s knife collection from the home, after he was asked if there were any weapons in the house.

Authorities did not open a criminal investigation.

Later that same year, Crimo signed an affidavit allowing Crimo III to apply to obtain a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) Card — needed in the state of Illinois to purchase firearms or ammunition.

“I filled out the consent form to allow my son to go through the process that the Illinois State Police have in place for an individual to obtain a FOID card,” Crimo said. “They do background checks. Whatever that entails, I’m not exactly sure. And either you’re approved or denied, and he was approved.”

On Wednesday, Illinois State Police announced there will be a criminal investigation into Crimo’s culpability because he sponsored his son’s application for a firearm owner identification card in 2019.

“Do I regret that? No, not three years ago — signing a consent form to go through the process … that’s all it was,” said Crimo, adding that he is not worried about potential legal consequences. “Had I purchased guns throughout the years and given them to him in my name, that’s a different story. But he went through that whole process himself.” Crimo said his son purchased the weapons with his own money and registered them in his own name.

Crimo claims he had no involvement with him purchasing weapons and learned of his son’s firearm collection when he displayed a “Glock handgun” he purchased on his 21st birthday. “Oh, looks nice,” he says he told Crimo III.

Crimo III’s FOID card was renewed in 2021 without the involvement of his father, according to authorities.

Crimo says he does not know the motive behind his son’s actions. “That’s what I’d like to ask him when I see him,” said Crimo. “Whatever was going on in his head at the time … to go kill and hurt innocent people is just senseless.” Crimo says his “heart goes out to all of the families that were affected.”

Crimo III allegedly killed seven people and injured dozens of others in the attack.

“I think about them all the time,” his father told ABC News. “I even had some people that were injured that I personally know.”

Prior to the shooting, Crimo’s son left a trail of disturbing images online — including depictions of shootings. He was also an amateur rapper with a little over 16,000 monthly listeners on Spotify; his last music release featured an album cover of a cartoon character aiming a gun.

“The online content I’m not aware of till recently,” said Crimo, adding that he saw his son as an “artist,” but did not always understand his work. “Maybe I’ve seen a couple of them in the past, and I’d look at them and go ‘that’s not you,’ because I know it’s like an act.”

Crimo denied rumors of his son suffering abuse at home. “Never, never,” he said, and he added that he and his wife are “very much against it.”

“I kept hearing all this stuff about … horrible parenting,” Crimo said. “He wasn’t raised that way. He has good morals,” he added.

“This isn’t Bobby,” Crimo said of his son’s actions. “I guess that’s why it’s so hard to wrap yourself around it. It doesn’t add up.”

Crimo III is being held without bond and is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing on July 28.

Crimo said the whole system needs to be overhauled, to prevent tragedies like this from happening again. “We need to come together as a community here in the country to come up with something, whether it’s new laws, guidelines … this country is our problem right here.”

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(CHICAGO) — The father of the alleged Highland Park parade shooter, Bobby Crimo Jr., has told ABC News that he is not culpable in the Independence Day attack, in spite of having signed a consent form for his son to apply for gun ownership.

“I had no — not an inkling, warning — that this was going to happen,” Crimo told ABC News about the Fourth of July attack his son, Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, carried out in Highland Park, Ill. “I am just shocked.”

Crimo claims both he and his wife asked their son just days before if he had any plans for the holiday. “He said ‘no.’ That was it,” Crimo recalled.

Crimo says he spent nearly an hour with his son in his yard the night before the attack talking about the planet. “Great mood,” he remembered. “I’m just shocked.”

Crimo says he never saw his son as a danger to anyone, but authorities recently disclosed past instances of violence. In 2019, police in Highland Park confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from the suspect’s home after a family member called claiming he “was going to kill everyone.”

“Making threats to the family … I think [that was] taken out of context,” Crimo said about authorities’ description of the 2019 incident. “It’s like just a child’s outburst, whatever he was upset about, and I think his sister called the police — I wasn’t living there.” Crimo said police removed his son’s knife collection from the home, after he was asked if there were any weapons in the house.

Authorities did not open a criminal investigation.

Later that same year, Crimo signed an affidavit allowing Crimo III to apply to obtain a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) Card — needed in the state of Illinois to purchase firearms or ammunition.

“I filled out the consent form to allow my son to go through the process that the Illinois State Police have in place for an individual to obtain a FOID card,” Crimo said. “They do background checks. Whatever that entails, I’m not exactly sure. And either you’re approved or denied, and he was approved.”

On Wednesday, Illinois State Police announced there will be a criminal investigation into Crimo’s culpability because he sponsored his son’s application for a firearm owner identification card in 2019.

“Do I regret that? No, not three years ago — signing a consent form to go through the process … that’s all it was,” said Crimo, adding that he is not worried about potential legal consequences. “Had I purchased guns throughout the years and given them to him in my name, that’s a different story. But he went through that whole process himself.” Crimo said his son purchased the weapons with his own money and registered them in his own name.

Crimo claims he had no involvement with him purchasing weapons and learned of his son’s firearm collection when he displayed a “Glock handgun” he purchased on his 21st birthday. “Oh, looks nice,” he says he told Crimo III.

Crimo III’s FOID card was renewed in 2021 without the involvement of his father, according to authorities.

Crimo says he does not know the motive behind his son’s actions. “That’s what I’d like to ask him when I see him,” said Crimo. “Whatever was going on in his head at the time … to go kill and hurt innocent people is just senseless.” Crimo says his “heart goes out to all of the families that were affected.”

Crimo III killed seven people and injured dozens of others in the attack.

“I think about them all the time,” his father told ABC News. “I even had some people that were injured that I personally know.”

Prior to the shooting, Crimo’s son left a trail of disturbing images online — including depictions of shootings. He was also an amateur rapper with a little over 16,000 monthly listeners on Spotify; his last music release featured an album cover of a cartoon character aiming a gun.

“The online content I’m not aware of till recently,” said Crimo, adding that he saw his son as an “artist,” but did not always understand his work. “Maybe I’ve seen a couple of them in the past, and I’d look at them and go ‘that’s not you,’ because I know it’s like an act.”

Crimo denied rumors of his son suffering abuse at home. “Never, never,” he said, and he added that he and his wife are “very much against it.”

“I kept hearing all this stuff about … horrible parenting,” Crimo said. “He wasn’t raised that way. He has good morals,” he added.

“This isn’t Bobby,” Crimo said of his son’s actions. “I guess that’s why it’s so hard to wrap yourself around it. It doesn’t add up.”

Crimo III is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and more charges are expected, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said. Prosecutors said that Crimo III confessed to Monday morning’s parade massacre. He did not enter a plea during a bond hearing on Wednesday. He is being held without bond and is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing on July 28.

Crimo said the whole system needs to be overhauled, to prevent tragedies like this from happening again. “We need to come together as a community here in the country to come up with something, whether it’s new laws, guidelines … this country is our problem right here.”

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