Victims’ loved ones denied chance to confront Highland Park mass shooter

WAUKEGAN, Ill. — Witnesses of the 2022 mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade near Chicago emotionally relived the massacre at the gunman’s sentencing hearing on Wednesday — even though Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III did not show his face in court.

Crimo, 24, pleaded guilty last month to 69 counts, including 21 counts of murder, for the shooting that killed seven people and wounded nearly 50 more at a July 4, 2022, parade in Highland Park about 30 miles outside of Chicago.

He faces life without the possibility of parole, as Illinois doesn’t have capital punishment.

The over 10 survivors, family members of victims, first responders, and witnesses of the shooting that are expected to make victim impact statements were denied their chance to confront Crimo after Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart told the court he declined to attend his sentencing and opted to remain in jail.

Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti stated that the defendant had been informed that sentencing would proceed with or without him in previous court appearances.

Dana Ruder Ring, a Highland Park mother, was among the first to make a statement for the court, recalling how she helped a little boy to safety as Crimo opened fire.

Crimo opened fire from a building rooftop into crowded streets below at about 10:14 a.m. on the day of the shooting, officials said.

In the chaos, Ring said she came across a woman and child, both covered in blood, as the woman handed her the baby and said: “Blood’s not ours, baby is not mine.”

Ring said she wrapped the boy in a blanket and eventually reunited him with his family.

The boy “was covered in blood” and “he had one shoe missing,” she recalled.

“I was just in mom mode,” as she cared for him, Ring told the court.

People in the Lake County courtroom took deep sighs, wiped their eyes, and covered their mouths as prosecutors showed pictures and videos of that horrific summer day.

Crimo killed Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; and married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35.

Gerald Cameron Jr., a retired commander of investigations for the Highland Park Police Department, told the court about “rhythmic pace at which point I believed to be gunfire” as parade attendees “frantically, panicked.”

“People were still running, yelling, screaming for help,” Cameron told the court in his victim impact statement.

After he was apprehended, Crimo told investigators he’d been planning a mass shooting since 2017 and was set to open fire on July 4, 2020, Highland Park police Detective Brian Bodden testified.

Despite giving this years of thought and planning, Crimo said he was thinking about aborting his deadly mission minutes earlier.

“I was sitting there waiting because in my head, I was thinking, you know … should I stay or should I go,” according to a video of the killer speaking to investigators.

It felt like a “sleepwalk” before “it just clicked,” Crimo said.

“All of a sudden, just pulled it out,” he told investigators. “I walk up the stairs and jump on the roof … then I opened fire.”

Days ahead of the shooting, Crimo had visited the shooting scene where an abortion rights rally was held, according to Bodden.

Crimo wanted to see where police would be stationed and how advantageous a high position could be, Bodden said.

“Better to be safe than sorry,” Crimo said of his prep work.

Once he squeezed the trigger, Crimo told police one of his main goals was to avoid hitting children. He wanted to hit as many adults as possible, “chest up.”

“Everyone was starting to run for cover. I didn’t want to hit kids,” Crimo said. “Everyone’s all running into each other.”

Dr. Jeremy Smiley, an ER physician who traded shifts just to be at that parade, said he still can’t shake images of that day.

His most lasting memory is of Cooper Roberts, then 8, who was shot and paralyzed.

“Not a day goes that I don’t think about Cooper,” Smiley testified. “That initial feeling of walking in and seeing someone my kid’s age, sick like that, that’ll never leave me.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Samira Puskar reported from Waukegan, Ill., and David K. Li from Los Angeles County.