It was the Fourth of July, and a parade was happening at Highland Park, an affluent suburb community in Chicago, U.S..
Things were peaceful.
Adults were seen bringing their children, and children were playing around. Older people were also seen occupying the spaces. Everything was nothing out of the ordinary, until around 10 a.m., when hell breaks loose.
In the downtown, a shooter was firing from the rooftop of the Ross Cosmetics building, a local store. The gunman managed to get to that elevated position in order to get a clear advantage view of the parade, by climbing an unsecured fire escape ladder attached to the side of the building.
It all happened only 15 minutes after the parade had started, and that the parade had not even reached the intersection when the shooting began.
More than 20 shots were fired, and at least five people died on the spot, while dozens more were injured, either from gunshot wounds or because of the panicked crowd.
In the end, seven people were killed and at least 46 others were injured.
They were all random people, aged 8 - 85, all were either spectators or those marching in the parade.
More than 100 armed officers were dispatched and swarmed the area. It was only then, that the shooter ceased firing, fleeing the scene and evading immediate capture.
When officers arrived to the shooting location, only the shooter's "high-powered rifle" was recovered.
The shooter remained at large, until the Lake County Sheriff's Office identified 21-year-old Robert Eugene Crimo III as a person of interest.
Crimo, who is known as Bobby, was initially described as a young woman with long dark hair.
The confusion was caused by investigators who initially believed that Crimo was a woman due to the women's clothing he was wearing "in attempt to conceal himself."
Following a short pursuit, Crimo was apprehended around 6:30 p.m., over eight hours after the shooting began.
He was driving a Honda Fit, where officers found another firearm at the trunk.
He was arrested in North Chicago, in Lake Forest, and was taken into custody without incident.
Crimo is believed to have used the disguise to blend into the crowd, and attempted to flee to his mother's home.
Even more firearms were recovered in his own house.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office said that Crimo was considered dangerous, and was later charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.
After some investigation, the authorities said that Crimo had planned the attack for weeks.
However, it was not initially revealed what specific information that led them to identify Crimo as a person of interest in the shooting.
The police managed to identify Crimo through a combination of videos. both from security cameras in the location, as well as footages uploaded to the internet, and expedited tracing of the recovered rifle by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
But this was when the police realized that Crimo is more than he seemed to be.
First, Crimo lived with his father and uncle, by stayed seclusively in a small apartment in the back.
His father, Robert Crimo Jr. is a business owner who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Highland park in 2019.
Crimo's uncle Paul said he hadn't noticed any signs that his nephew might commit violence.
"There were no warning signs," said Paul Crimo. "I saw him yesterday evening, and I went home, I said ‘hi’ to him, and when I came back downstairs, I said ‘bye’, he said ‘bye’, and that was it."
"There were no signs of trouble. I saw no signs of trouble. If I did see signs, I would have said something."
He said he was "heartbroken" by the attack.
Second, it was realized that back in September 2019, a family member reported that Crimo said he was going to "kill everyone." Police responded to his residence and discovered 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from the residence, but Crimo was not arrested.
And third, Crimo was found to be using the stage name 'Awake the Rapper' and posted content online that included violent imagery.
For example, on a then-deleted YouTube page, some of his videos were featuring his hometown, and others including animated scenes of gun violence. In one video that depicts gun violence, he can be heard saying, "I need to leave now. I need to just do it. It is my destiny."
From his online presence, it was found that Crimo's music tracks have amassed millions of plays across online streaming platforms.
‘Awake the Rapper’ is said to have released his first song in 2016, however he reportedly started going by this name on several social media platforms starting 2011. In 2020, he released a song titled …In my Honda, which is being linked to the fact that he was arrested driving a silver Honda.
With tattoos described by the police as "four tally marks with a line through them on his right cheek, red roses and green leaves on his neck, and cursive script above his left eyebrow,” Crimo may look intimidating.
But Crimo did not have any publishable criminal background.
Crimo who was "odd, soft-spoken, and showed little interest in class and school activities or engaging with his peers," was an antisocial, but never show real hatred towards anyone or anything.
Crimo was a "real quiet" boy who grew up by keeping his thoughts to himself. Crimo is even a mystery to his own family.
On the internet, Crimo’s profile said that he is "the middle child of three and of Italian descent," and that he’d been uploading music since he was 11, and said he had "net worth" that was "estimated at $100 thousand."
