July 6, 2022 Highland Park, Illinois parade shooting news

By Adrienne Vogt, Aditi Sangal, Mike Hayes, Maureen Chowdhury and Elise Hammond, CNN

Updated 0055 GMT (0855 HKT) July 7, 2022
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1:30 p.m. ET, July 6, 2022

Parade shooter contemplated carrying out second attack in another city, police say

Christopher Covelli, deputy chief of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, speaks during a press conference on July 6.
Christopher Covelli, deputy chief of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, speaks during a press conference on July 6. (CNN)

Law enforcement said that the gunman in Monday's July 4 parade shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, considered carrying out another attack in Madison, Wisconsin, with an additional weapon he had in his car.

"Investigators did develop some information that it appears when he drove to Madison, he was driving around, however, he did see a celebration that was occurring in Madison, and he seriously contemplated using the firearm he had in his vehicle to commit another shooting in Madison," said Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The shooter, Robert E. Crimo III, had approximately 60 rounds of ammunition in his car, Covelli said.

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

"Indications are that he hadn't put enough thought or research into it," Covelli added.

According to Covelli, the shooter's cell phone — which was dumped in Middleton, Wisconsin — was recovered by the FBI on Tuesday and is being processed now.

Covelli said he didn’t want to speculate on motives, saying, “his motivation isn't necessarily clear.” 

“I don't want to go specifically into what he told investigators, however, he had some type of affinity towards the number four and seven and inverse was seven, four,” the deputy chief said. According to Covelli, the shooter's affinity “comes from music that he's interested in.”

Covelli said Crimo will now go through the intake process at the Lake County Jail, where they will go through a number of criteria questions and he'll be classified on where he should be placed within the jail.

“Depending on how those questions turn up, he might be placed in an individual cell. That's something that the jail will work on and they go through their internal process,” Covelli added.

CNN’s Rebekah Riess contributed reporting to this post.

1:22 p.m. ET, July 6, 2022

"We're all standing as a community": Highland Park residents come together after mass shooting

From CNN's Eric Levenson

Community members write messages at a memorial site in Highland Park, Illinois on July 5. 
Community members write messages at a memorial site in Highland Park, Illinois on July 5.  (Cheney Orr/Reuters)

Two days after a suspected gunman killed seven people at a July Fourth parade in Highland Park, Illinois, the community is trying to cope with the tragedy. Here's what some people are saying.

Cristy and Hal Steinberg

Cristy Steinberg, 42, grew up in nearby Buffalo Grove and lived in Chicago, but she and her husband decided to move to Highland Park about 11 years ago for classic suburban reasons: a bigger backyard, better schools and the community feel.

She has been to the July 4 parade every year since. Her son Hal, 12, pointed out it is her favorite day of the year.

“I love this day. I look forward to July 4 every — literally, he’s like, ‘Mom it’s your favorite day of the year.’ I love the parade,” she said.

In 2019, Hal marched in the parade as part of a float for Dr. Jessica Cohen Orthodontics. On Wednesday morning, Hal wrote the word “Together” in marker on the window of the orthodontist’s office in a show of community support.

“We’re all standing as a community. It’s not just one person that’s going to do everything. We have to work together,” Hal said. “Even me as a 12-year-old boy, we were talking, me and my friends about this, this should just never happen, and we’re all together about that.”

Fred Kroll

Fred Kroll, 67, was positioned with his family outside Walker Bros Original Pancake House during the parade — a spot he called “ground zero” of the massacre. He saw two people lying lifeless, and he tried to aid others who had been shot or wounded. One man bleeding from the head came up to Kroll and asked if he had been shot; fortunately, the head wound appeared to be shrapnel rather than a bullet.

Kroll grew up in nearby Skokie but moved to Highland Park 36 years ago for its community feel and its array of welcoming trees, he said. He and several friends have a regular morning coffee chat at That Little French Guy café, and on Wednesday morning he waved and said hello to a series of familiar faces who walked by.

His wife and daughter are traumatized by the shooting, but he insisted he’ll be staying put in Highland Park, undeterred by the violence he saw.

“I don’t know if it’s my age or life experience, but it’s done, it’s over, and I’m not gonna let this kid affect my life,” he said.

Matthew Berk

Matthew Berk, 31, grew up in Highland Park and met his now-wife here at Highland Park High School. He left for college at Michigan and then worked in Los Angeles for about a decade, but in August 2020 he and his wife decided to return to their community to be close to family and a support system.

“We said — and this is the irony of the conversation in light of what’s happened — let’s get our family out of L.A., let’s get back to where we have a support system... Let’s get our family home and set roots down in a place where we want to start raising our kids, in a loving, generous, kind, beautiful (community),” he said. “The shame of it is Highland Park is and will continue to be a really wonderful community, just with this gaping wound.”

On Wednesday, he sat outside That Little French Guy café next to an empty chair with a handmade sign saying, “Let’s talk.”

“I don’t have the words to process it, so I think one of the reasons I wanted to come sit with the sign and an invitation to talk is to try, to process it together,” he said.

 

12:56 p.m. ET, July 6, 2022

Husband of shooting victim describes moment he learned his wife was killed

From CNN’s Caroll Alvarado

Highland Park shooting victim Katherine Goldstein, center, with her daughters Cassie and Alana.
Highland Park shooting victim Katherine Goldstein, center, with her daughters Cassie and Alana. (Craig Goldstein)

The family of a Highland Park parade shooting victim is speaking out about what happened during the attack.

Katherine Goldstein, 64, was at the parade with her daughter Cassie, according to Katherine’s husband, Craig Goldstein, who rushed to the parade to try to help his daughter once he got a phone call from her telling him about the shooting. 

“My daughter, Cassie, looked up at the rooftop and saw the man with the gun. She said ‘Mom, we have to run,' and they ran,” Goldstein told CNN. “They were running side by side when a bullet entered Katie’s chest.” 

Goldstein said Cassie saw her mother fall to the ground, but she got the chance to tell her “I love you” one last time before she closed her eyes. A stranger then grabbed his daughter and told her she had to keep running, according to Goldstein.

“I could hear Cassie in the background and she was screaming, ‘Mom is dead! Don’t come!’ She was afraid for us. It seemed unreal, but I didn’t want to leave Cassie by herself. I wanted to find Cassie,” he said.

Goldstein told CNN his wife was a very kind, selfless and funny person who was devoted to her family and spent her evenings playing games with her daughters. 

“I could not imagine a better mother,” he said.

“She loved to go bird watching. In the spring she was out every morning with her binoculars,” he added.

Goldstein is survived by her two daughters and husband. 

3:23 p.m. ET, July 6, 2022

State prosecutor: "Many more charges" to come against Highland Park shooter

Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart speaks during a press conference on July 6.
Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart speaks during a press conference on July 6. (CNN)

Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart, who is handling the state's case against Highland Park shooter Robert Crimo III, said Wednesday that he anticipates that Crimo will face "many more charges."

"Yesterday, I referred to the fact that there were additional charges, many more charges against this defendant because so many people were hurt. For each individual that was hurt, people can anticipate an attempted murder charge as well as an aggravated battery with a firearm charge." 

Rinehart noted that all of those charges are felonies that carry "serious prison time associated with them." 

"Other people were attempted to be murdered, people who were not shot. So there are many different charges we are reviewing with respect to the other individuals who have sadly been injured by this," Rinehart said.

"Every time he fires a bullet at an individual, he is committing aggravated discharge of a weapon, whether he hit someone or not. There will be many more charges coming in the coming weeks," the state attorney said.

Rinehart said that he anticipated that those additional charges will be filed later this month.

12:07 p.m. ET, July 6, 2022

Lake County state's attorney reaffirms his support for a nationwide ban on assault weapons

After the mass shooting in his hometown of Highland Park, Illinois, Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said there should be a nationwide ban on assault weapons.

"The state of Illinois and the United States should ban these types of weapons. We had this ban from 1994 to 2004 with bipartisan support," he noted. "Everything shows that these types of horrifying, devastating incidents went down during that time. My position as a public safety professional, as one of the many individuals responsible for the safety of the people in Lake County, we should have a statewide and national ban on assault weapons."

He noted that the gap in the state's gun laws is due to the fact that there is no ban on assault weapons.

"With the respect to the red flag laws, we have to look at it on a case-by-case basis," he added. "With respect to holes in gun laws, we need an assault weapon ban and we need to make sure that law enforcement is using the red flag law, the firearm restraining order law."

12:59 p.m. ET, July 6, 2022

Seventh victim of Highland Park mass shooting identified 

From CNN's Melissa Alonso

Highland Park shooting victim Eduardo Uvaldo.
Highland Park shooting victim Eduardo Uvaldo. (Eduardo Uvaldo Family)

The seventh victim of the mass shooting on July 4 has been identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner as 69-year-old Eduardo Uvaldo of Waukegan, Illinois. 

Uvaldo "was pronounced dead today at 7:47 a.m. at Evanston Hospital. An autopsy will be performed in the coming days," said a press release from the medical examiner.  

Six of the dead had been identified by the Lake County Coroner, and one by Cook County Medical Examiner.

12:28 p.m. ET, July 6, 2022

FBI director says federal charges are possible in Highland Park July 4 parade shooting

From CNN's Evan Perez

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a Senate hearing in Washington, DC on May 25.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a Senate hearing in Washington, DC on May 25. (Bonnie Cash/Pool/AP)

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that federal charges could be brought in the Highland Park, Illinois, July 4th parade shooting.

"If the facts gathered end up supporting a federal prosecution, then we will work with the US attorney’s office to pursue prosecution on the federal side as well," Wray said while speaking at an event in London on Chinese espionage and hacking.

Wray, speaking in London following an unrelated event with MI5 Director General Ken McCallum, noted that state charges have been brought against the suspect.

Wray also noted the bureau has been assisting local and state authorities investigating the mass shooting. The bureau is providing help with crime scene and evidence collection, and victims assistance experts to help those affected by the attack. 

12:47 p.m. ET, July 6, 2022

Prosecutor: Shooting suspect will be held without bond

From CNN’s Rebekah Riess

A judge ruled that Highland Park shooting suspect Robert Crimo III would remain in jail on Wednesday during a court appearance in Lake County, Illinois.

The state filed a written petition for no bail and said they would seek a conviction with a sentence of life in prison. Lake County Bond Court Judge Theodore Potkonjak ordered Crimo to be held without bond.

"The judge ruled he would be held without bond and there is probable cause to hold him at this time for seven counts of first-degree murder," Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart told reporters outside Lake County courthouse after the hearing.

"Based on the information that the investigation has produced so far, the judge found that the evidence was such a level that he would be held without bond also because of the fact that it is a mandatory life sentence," he added.

Additional details were developed during Crimo's bond hearing.

Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon outlined the events on July 4, stating that surveillance video from the scene showed a person running west with a black bag over the shoulder in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. As he was running, an object wrapped in cloth fell onto the pavement. The suspect left the object and kept running. The object was recovered and identified as a Smith & Wesson M&P15 — an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle — with one round in the chamber, but no magazine inserted, Dillion said.

Crimo provided investigators with a voluntary statement confessing to his actions and identified himself on still images as the person fleeing the scene when the rifle fell out of the bag, according to Dillon.

Dillon added that Crimo told law enforcement he “looked down his sights, aimed and opened fire” on paradegoers and fired two full magazines before putting in a third in a rifle. Crimo continued to fire before fleeing the rooftop, Dillon said. Three 30-round magazines and 83 spent shell casings were recovered, he said.

Crimo also said that he dressed up as a woman and covered his tattoos with makeup to avoid being recognized, according to the prosecutor.

The judge scheduled the next hearing in Crimo's case for July 28.

11:14 a.m. ET, July 6, 2022

Highland Park shooting suspect appears in court after being charged with 7 counts of murder 

From CNN's Travis Caldwell

The man suspected of killing at least seven people and wounding dozens at a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb is making his first court appearance.

The suspect faces seven counts of first-degree murder “for the killing spree he has unleashed against our community,” Lake County, Illinois, State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said at a news conference Tuesday.

A conviction would result in a sentence of life imprisonment without parole, he said.

The suspect, according to authorities, opened fire from a rooftop in Highland Park as the parade got underway just after 10 a.m. CT on Monday. More than 70 high-velocity rounds were fired with a rifle "similar to an AR-15," said Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesperson Chris Covelli.