Robert Crimo told family he would ‘kill everyone’ in 2019: cops

The man suspected of killing seven people and wounding more than 30 others at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., told his family he would “kill everyone” in 2019, police said Tuesday.

Officers seized 16 knives, a dagger and a sword that Robert Crimo III had stashed in his parents’ home in the north Chicago suburb, Lake County police spokesman Chris Covelli said at an afternoon press conference.

While Crimo’s stated intent was to “kill everyone,” Covelli said that “the threat was directed at family inside the home.”

At the time, Crimo had no guns and had not applied for a firearms license in Illinois, according to Covelli. Highland Park police reported Crimo to Illinois state police for the threat, but with no charges to file and no gun-license application to review, Crimo dropped off the authorities’ radar.

The September 2019 knife incident occurred five months after Crimo attempted suicide, Covelli said. A third party reported the suicide attempt in April 2019 about a week after it happened, according to police.

Those were the only two instances of law-enforcement contact with Crimo prior to his Independence Day massacre, cops said. Investigators said Crimo planned the shooting for several weeks. He disguised himself as a woman, climbed onto a rooftop overlooking the parade and unloaded at least 70 bullets into the crowd.

Crimo, 22, escaped the scene and went to his mother’s house, police said. From there, he drove to Wisconsin, eventually reaching the Madison area, Covelli said Tuesday. He then turned around and went back to Illinois, where his vehicle was spotted by a tipster who alerted police.

Covelli said that Crimo has been talking with officers since his arrest, but still “there is no definitive motive” for the rampage.

“This crisis has devastated entire families and our community in a single moment,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said.