Robert E. Crimo III, identified by police as a suspect in shooting and killing six people and injuring dozens more on Monday morning at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, near Chicago us United States was dressed in women’s clothing during the attack, said Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
According to investigators, he did this to hide his facial tattoos and his identity.
Covelli points out that the disguise helped Crimo blend in among the parade participants who were fleeing the shooting.
After the attack, the suspect left the roof where he was shooting, dropped his rifle and blended into the crowd as he escaped.
According to the police, Crimo walked to his mother’s house, who lived in the area, and took one of the vehicles in the house.
The spokesperson adds that officers were initially unsure whether the suspect was actually wearing women’s clothing, but noted that accounts by those present described the shooter as a person with “long hair”, meaning that Crimo could have been wearing a wig.
After identifying Crimo as a “person of interest” for the case, an alert was issued to police units with information about the car and the suspect.
“We issued an alert yesterday afternoon,” said Covelli, who thanked “an alert community member” who identified the vehicle and called 911.
“An alert police officer from North Chicago spotted the vehicle, waited for additional relief units to arrive, made a traffic stop, and managed to safely arrest Crimo without injury to officers,” Covelli detailed.
Another rifle – also purchased by Crimo – was found in the vehicle.
There is still no clear motive for the crime.
Police said they have yet to establish a motive for the alleged shooter to carry out the deadly attack on Highland Park.
“Right now, we haven’t found the reason. Investigators are making great strides in their investigation. They’re arguing with the suspect. I have nothing to say about motivation so far because the cause has not been provided,” Covelli claimed.
At this time, agents do not contain information about the attack being motivated “by race, religion or any other protected group”.
Videos of violent images posted online by the suspect are being reviewed by police, he added.
Initial investigations indicate that Crimo planned the attack over several weeks.
“Based on where we are at this point in the investigation – and some of this is preliminary, subject to change as we go along – we believe that Crimo planned this attack for several weeks,” reads a statement signed by Covelli.
Investigators are not ready to announce charges against suspects
The suspect currently remains in custody and “by all indications, it appears that Crimo was acting on his own,” Covelli noted.
Even so, the police are not ready to announce the charges.
“The Lake County Attorney’s office has been with us from the beginning. They accompanied us this morning and throughout the night. We continue to analyze the information,” Covelli said.
The spokesperson added that investigators are still developing leads and analyzing “critical information”.
“When we are ready to review all of this information for charges, we will meet with the state attorney” to discuss the criminal charges.
(From Rebekah Riess, Travis Caldwell, Kelly McCleary, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Maureen Chowdhury and Elise Hammond)
Source: CNN Brasil
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