Officials have confirmed that a person of concern in the July Fourth mass shooting was taken into custody.
Robert E. Crime III was seen driving a silver Honda Fit through north Chicago just hours after the attack. Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen stated Monday night that the 22-year-old attempted to flee from an officer who tried to initiate a traffic stop.
Jogmen stated that Crime surrendered after a brief chase, but he was eventually taken into custody.
Jogmen stated that the investigation is progressing quickly and said Crime would be questioned by department investigators “to confirm or see if he is actually connected to this incident.”
Jogmen refused to label Crime as a suspect in this stage of the investigation when Jogmen was pressed. According to the police chief, more information is needed to tie him to the shooting that resulted in six deaths and many other injuries.
According to Jennifer Banek, Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek, five of the six victims were adults who died on the spot. Families are being notified that all five victims have been identified.
Chief Joe Schrage of Highland Park Fire said that a child who was critically injured was among the nearly two dozen people being taken to the hospital. Gunshot wounds to the abdomen or limbs are just a few of the injuries.
NPR member station WBEZ reported that the “vast majority of” the wounded are being treated with gunshot wounds. Many others sustained injuries from the chaos that followed the parade.
Schrage stated that crews responded quickly to the scene, as well as witnesses who assisted in tying tourniquets.
Witnesses described chaos, panic, and disbelief.
Miles Zaremski said that he mistakenly thought the gunshots were fireworks or a car backfiring when he heard them first.
He said, “And then all at once, the crowd… started running in a stampede fashion.”
“Then I gingerly moved a bit forward and suddenly I see blood on cement. I saw people in pools of blood, and I knew it was a mass shooting.
Zaremski stated that he ran to help, but was quickly taken away by emergency services and police who arrived on the scene in a matter of minutes.
He said that he saw the carnage and almost fell to his death.
Zaremski, who has lived in Highland Park for over 40 years, described it as a peaceful and loving community that is far from the chaos he had experienced.
“It’s surreal. He said that it must have been a science-fiction film he had just seen, but it wasn’t. “Our country is scary.”