The man accused of spraying gunfire into a Chicago-area Independence Day parade from a rooftop made his first court appearance on Wednesday (July 06) to face seven first-degree murder charges, being denied release on bail in connection with the latest U.S. mass shooting.
Suspect Robert Crimo, 21, appeared from jail via a video link, dressed in black, in the hearing before Judge Theodore Potkonjak two days after the attack carried out during the July Fourth holiday celebration in Highland Park, Illinois.
At the hearing, a prosecutor said that Crimo had admitted to authorities that he carried out the shooting.
Authorities said on Tuesday (July 5) that Crimo planned the attack for weeks before climbing up to his sniper’s perch from an alley and firing more than 70 rounds randomly into parade spectators before making his getaway dressed in women’s clothing and makeup to cover his facial tattoos.
At least seven people were killed and more than three dozen were hospitalized with gunshot wounds and other injuries after the shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.
The suspect was arrested later on Monday (July 04) when he was stopped by police at the wheel of his mother’s car, which authorities said he had driven to Wisconsin and back to Illinois following the shooting.
A Smith & Wesson semiautomatic rifle, similar to an AR-15, used in the shooting was found at the scene, and the suspect had a similar weapon in his mother’s car when arrested, according to county prosecutors.
(Reuters)
