Highland Park shooting suspect's father charged with felonies because he helped son get FOID card
The father of the Highland Park mass shooting suspect was behind bars Friday after prosecutors charged him with seven counts of reckless conduct because he helped his son apply for a FOID card in 2019 despite his troubled past.
An arrest warrant for Robert Crimo Jr., the father of the shooting suspect, went out Thursday. He turned himself in to Highland Park police Friday afternoon. A bond hearing for Crimo Jr. is scheduled for Saturday.
Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said Friday that Crimo Jr. acted recklessly when he signed off on his son's FOID application on Dec. 16, 2019. Because his son was younger than 21 at the time, a signature from a parent was required.
“Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenager should have a weapon,” Rinehart said. “They are the first line of defense. In this case, that system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son. He knew what he knew, and he signed the form anyway.”
Crimo Jr. is charged with seven counts of reckless conduct, one for each person killed in the mass shooting, Rinehart said.
His son, Robert Crimo III, is charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder in the July 4 attack, three charges for each of the seven people killed by gunfire. He also is charged with 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm for each person struck by a bullet, bullet fragment or shrapnel.
The suspect, now 22, is accused of opening fire from a rooftop at the annual July 4 parade in downtown Highland Park.
Killed in the shooting were Highland Park residents Katherine Goldstein, 64; Stephen Straus, 88; Jacquelyn “Jacki” Sundheim, 63; and husband and wife Kevin and Irina McCarthy, 37 and 35, respectively, as well as Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico, and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, of Waukegan. Dozens more were injured.
Rinehart said the statute for reckless conduct states it can be applied even if the conduct in question was legal.
Crimo Jr. helped his son with the FOID application just three months after the teen had been the subject of a “clear and present danger” report filed by a juvenile relative who alleged the he had threatened to “kill everyone.” The report said the person who filed the report expressed fear about returning home.
Officials said the rifle used to carry out the mass shooting was purchased legally by the suspect.
In August, officials from Illinois State Police, the agency responsible for administering the state's FOID law, said because the suspect had not yet applied for a FOID card when the “clear and present danger” report was filed, they had no authority to deny him one.
State officials last month announced that two policies designed to keep firearms out of the hands of those who pose a significant threat had been strengthened in the wake of the Highland Park mass shooting.
At the news conference Friday, Rinehart called on lawmakers to ban high-powered rifles and large-capacity magazines.
“Shattered communities deserve better,” Rinehart said. “Gun violence is a uniquely American devastation, but it is not destiny. It is a decision.”
If convicted on any of the counts, Crimo Jr. could be sentenced to up to three years in prison. Class 4 felonies, such as reckless conduct, are also probationable offenses.