The father of the alleged gunman who opened fire on dozens of people, killing seven, at Highland Park's Fourth of July parade has been charged, prosecutors announced Friday.
Robert Crimo Jr. faces seven counts of felony reckless conduct in connection with the Independence Day shooting, which his son, 21-year-old Robert Crimo III is suspected of carrying out, Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said.
The charges come months after the deadly mass shooting unfolded in the north Chicago suburb, with Crimo Jr. accused of being "criminally reckless at the time that he helped his son procure a FOID card," which was ultimately "a contributing cause to the bodily harm suffered by the homicide victims in the mass shooting."
Robert Crimo III faces 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing those killed and wounded during the parade in Highland Park.
"Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenager should have a weapon. They are the first line of defense," Rinehart said in a statement. "In this case, that system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son. He knew what he knew, and he signed the form anyway. This was criminally reckless and a contributing cause to the bodily harm suffered by the victims on July 4th.”
Crimo Jr. turned himself into authorities Friday and a bond hearing is slated to be held Saturday. His attorney called the charges "baseless and unprecedented."
"On the eve of the statute of limitations for reckless conduct related to the sponsorship of Crimo III’s FOID application, the Lake County State’s County hastily made a decision to charge my client," said Attorney George Gomez. "This decision should alarm every single parent in the United States of America who, according to the Lake County State’s Attorney, knows exactly what is going on with their 19-year-old adult children and can be held criminally liable for actions taken nearly three years later. These charges are absurd and we will fight them every step of the way."
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He added that Crimo Jr. "continues to sympathize and feel terrible for the individuals and families who were injured and lost loved ones this past July 4th," but believes the charges are "politically motivated and a distraction from the real change that needs to happen in this country."
In previous media interviews, the suspect's father has said he did not expect to face charges and does not believe he did anything wrong by helping his son get a gun license through the state's established process.
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Reckless conduct charges are felony charges which can be sentenced for up to three years in prison, though they are typically served concurrently with each other.
Questions have been swirling since the attack over whether or not Crimo III's father would be charged after he sponsored his son's application for a gun license, just months after a family member called police to report that the then-teen had a collection of knives and had threatened to "kill everyone."
Illinois State Police reviewed the license application and found no reason to deny it because police said the teen now accused in the mass shooting had no arrests, no criminal record, no serious mental health problems, no orders of protection and no other behavior that would disqualify him.
By 2021, Crimo III had purchased at least five weapons. Now he’s accused of using a semi-automatic rifle to open fire on a crowd of unsuspecting July 4 paradegoers in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, killing seven people and wounding at least 30 more.
But the accused gunman's parents have been under scrutiny as the reeling community questions why they apparently supported their son's interest in guns only months after he reportedly threatened suicide and violence.
Legal experts, however, said it's incredibly difficult to prove criminal charges against a shooter's parent or guardian.
"They have to show the parents aided and abetted crime in some way for there to be an accountability based charge," Paul Cain, a professor of law at Northern Illinois University, said. "That’s the getaway car driver who didn't actually go in and rob the store at gunpoint ... but performed some action to allow that robbery to go forward."
More often, such parents will face civil lawsuits where legal standards of proof are less stringent.
Families impacted by the shooting did file suit in November against several groups, including Crimo III's father, alleging negligence.
But one exception has been moving through a Michigan state court. In December, a prosecutor charged the parents of a 15-year-old boy with involuntary manslaughter following the fatal shooting of four students at the teenager's high school. He was charged as an adult with murder and terrorism.
