“Was it a pause, a break?” Jogmen said, referring to questions authorities faced during the frantic search. “Does this person intend to continue until they end their life? Is this a person who was looking for an escape?” In a voluntary statement, Crimo admitted to authorities that he emptied two 30-round magazines before loading his gun with a third and firing again, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon said during a mock bail hearing. If convicted, Crimo faces up to life in prison. Meanwhile, the motive remains unclear four days later. “That’s the first thing people want to know,” Jogmen said. “At this point, I don’t think I can give you a why based on what I’m hearing from my investigators… We’d love to have that reason out there for people to process, but I’m not sure we’re still there.” As investigators work to determine what led to the shooting, the Highlands community continues to mourn those killed and injured in the attack.

Traumatized couple’s reunion ‘was pure joy’

Among the injured is an 8-year-old boy, who is paralyzed from the waist down after undergoing surgeries in recent days. Cooper Roberts attended the parade with his mother Keely and twin brother Luke, who were also injured during the shooting, family spokesman Anthony Loici said Thursday during a news conference. Cooper was shot in the chest and his spinal cord was severed, Loizzi said. He was heavily sedated Thursday and placed on a ventilator in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery to close his abdominal area. “It’s going to be a new normal for him moving forward,” Loizzi said. “It sounds (like) he’s going to have significant trouble moving forward, especially with walking.” Luke was injured by shrapnel and was released from the hospital after treatment. Keely Roberts also underwent several surgeries after being shot in and around the leg, Loici said. Meanwhile, a married couple injured during the shooting were reunited at the hospital after the wife came out of surgery, said Samantha Whitehead, a close family friend. Stephen Kolpack was shot in the leg and released, while his wife Zoe suffered a broken femur, Whitehead said. “It was pure joy, like you could feel the love,” Whitehead told CNN. “I think you could feel the relief from both of them that … they’re going to be OK. Their kids are going to be OK. They’re just really grateful. It’s like the best-case scenario of a horrible, horrible situation.”
Whitehead, who described herself as Zoe’s best friend, has set up a GoFundMe to help cover the family’s medical expenses. Those who did not survive include Irina and Kevin McCarthy, ages 35 and 37 respectively, who were the parents of a 2-year-old boy who was found alive at the scene of the shooting. The other victims killed were Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park; Stephen Straus, 88, of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Saragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico, and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, of Waukegan.

The attacker clashed with the police

In April 2019, Highland Park police received a call that Crimo had attempted to kill himself using a machete, and mental health professionals handled the issue, according to a police report documenting the incident. A few months later, a relative reported in September 2019 that Crimo threatened family members to “kill everyone” and had a collection of bladed items in his closet, another police report shows. Police seized the collection, and the suspect’s father — Bobby Crimo Jr. — picked it up later that day at the police station. After that second report, Highland Park police filed a “Clear and Present Danger” report with the Illinois State Police about what happened, the police report shows. No arrests were made during this incident because there were no signed complaints against Crimo. Family members were unwilling to file additional charges, state police said. Of those incidents, Crimo when purchasing firearms between June 2020 and September 2021 passed four background checks that included federal National Direct Check Criminal Background System checks, state police said. He legally purchased five firearms, including rifles, handguns and possibly a shotgun, according to Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Deputy Chief Chris Covelli. Crimo’s application for a Firearm Owner’s ID, or FOID, was sponsored by his father because his son was under 21. It was not dismissed because there was “insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger” at the time, state police said. There is no criminal charge for sponsoring someone’s FOID, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart he told CNN on Thursday, adding that the office was still reviewing evidence “in terms of who knew what when.” “There are different ways to look at potential criminal liability in this case,” Rinehart said. “There is not, per se, a violation of the law if you vouch for someone with a FOID card and they end up doing something terrible like this. But, having said that, we’re continuing to investigate the case and we’re continuing to explore all options.” CNN’s calls to Crimo Jr. have not been returned. His attorney, Steve Greenberg, told CNN they would not be making any further public comments, “but the parents will continue to speak with law enforcement and assist them.” CNN’s Adrienne Broaddus, Jason Kravarik and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.