The U.S. was met with heartbreaking news of yet another mass shooting this week when a 21-year-old white male opened fire on a parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
In the first half of 2022 alone, the country has seen more than 300 mass shootings. Still, an all-too-familiar response of the powers that be persists, even as the stats surrounding such violence only grow more alarming.
Below, we break down what’s known about the Highland Park shooting so far, including the seven victims who lost their lives in the latest attack.
At a parade on the morning of July 4 in the Highland Park suburb of Lake County, the shooter opened fire from a rooftop, hitting multiple victims and sending others running for safety.
In an initial statement shared by city officials, those in the area were urged to “shelter in place” as local police responded to the scene. Shortly after, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it was assisting Highland Park Police with the response, later confirming that six had died as a result of the shooting. For several hours, the suspect—initially described as “a white male” between the ages of 18 and 20 years old.
A seventh death was confirmed in subsequent days, per CBS News, with the victim having been pronounced dead at the nearby Evanston Hospital .
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said five victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while the remaining two victims died in the hospital.
The victims—per NBC News—include Katherine Goldstein (64), Irina McCarthy (35), Kevin McCarthy (37), Jacquelyn Sundheim (63), Stephen Straus, (88), Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza (78), and Eduardo Uvaldo (69).
Irina and Kevin’s two-year-old child, Aiden, was taken in by others at the parade and later connected with his grandparents. A USA Today-highlighted GoFundMe had raised more than $2.3 million at the time of this writing, with funds being put toward support for the child and his caregivers.
21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III was later confirmed by Lake County officials to be in custody.
During an initial court appearance on July 6, Crimo was denied bail. County prosecutor Ben Dillon, per Reuters, told the court during the hearing that Crimo had confessed to the shooting after his arrest.
Crimo has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. Additional charges are expected.
During the July 4th attack, per a Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesperson, the suspect used a gun described as “similar to an AR-15” when firing more than 70 rounds from the rooftop and onto unsuspecting parade participants and attendees. That gun, as well as four others, have been reported to have been legally purchased.
Questions have been raised regarding the suspect’s ability to legally obtain the weapons, given that—as highlighted by the Associated Press and others in recent days—he had been known by local authorities in connection with prior threats.
Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit focused on gun violence prevention, describes Illinois’ gun laws as among the “strongest” in the country. The nonprofit, however, has recommended the state improve its Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) system.
“Our community, like so many before us, is devastated,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said in an initial statement. “It’s impossible to imagine the pain of this kind of tragedy until it happens in your backyard. Gun violence—a mass shooting such as this casts a much wider net of agony than what the public is typically exposed to; it’s a crisis that devastates entire families and communities in a single moment and we know will take time to heal.”
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, meanwhile, noted that neither grief nor prayers will bring an end to the “rampant gun violence” in the U.S. Pritzker later responded to a tastelessly timed tweet from the NRA, telling the gun-championing organization to “leave us the hell alone.”
President Biden also shared a statement on the day of the attack. In it, he referenced his recent signing of gun reform legislation while acknowledging there is “much more work” still left to do.
“Jill and I are shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day,” Biden said.
