The father of Robert Crimo III, the man accused of gunning down seven people at a Fourth of July parade in Illinois last summer, was formally indicted on felony charges for helping his son obtain a gun permit, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office said.
Robert Crimo Jr. faces seven counts of reckless conduct, one for each person killed during the mass shooting at Highland Park. He was arrested in December and has since denied any wrongdoing.
However, prosecutors have argued Crimo Jr. was “criminally reckless” when he signed his son’s application for an Illinois Firearm Owners Identification card nearly three years before the parade massacre in December 2019. The document is required to legally purchase a firearm in the state.
Just months earlier, Robert Crimo III had attempted suicide by machete. Then, in September 2019, he was accused by a family member of making threats to “kill everyone,” according to authorities.
Despite both of these incidents, the younger Crimo was able to purchase five firearms, all of them sponsored by his father.
“Parents who help their kids get weapons of war are morally and legally responsible when those kids hurt others with those weapons,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a brief statement on Wednesday.
Authorities have said Crimo III used a “high-powered rifle” to open fire from a rooftop on revelers enjoying a Fourth of July Parade in Highland Park, a wealthy and liberal Chicago suburb. He’s been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. He previously pleaded not guilty.