Highland Park’s community emergency response team, or CERT, made up of residents from all walks of life — doctors, businesspeople, scientists — had a vital role to play in response to the mass shooting.
Highland Park
It seemingly took a hometown tragedy to make it happen, but in January the statewide assault weapons ban Illinois legislators who represent Highland Park spent almost a decade fighting for became law – one of several measures Illinois legislators took in direct connection to the shooting.
Since 2016, thousands of Americans have been wounded in mass shootings, and tens of thousands by gun violence. Beyond the colossal medical bills and the weight of trauma and grief, mass shooting survivors and family members contend with scores of other changes that upend their lives.
Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting that left seven dead and 48 more wounded, and 22-year-old Robert Crimo III remains in custody after being indicted on 117 felony charges — including 21 counts of first-degree murder.
On Monday, WTTW News launches a new initiative, “A Safer City.” In an effort to help facilitate the complicated but necessary conversation around violence, we aim to explore violence in all its forms with depth and nuance.
The judges on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals are being asked to decide whether Illinois’ recently enacted assault weapons ban violates the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.
Lake County Judge George Strickland said during a status hearing Friday that he intends the trial of Robert Crimo Jr. to begin sometime in late October or early November.
The court denied an emergency request from groups challenging the law, which bans so-called assault weapons. The law’s opponents had asked the high court to put the law on hold while a court challenge continues.
After seven people were shot and killed during Highland Park’s Independence Day parade last summer, Illinois took a major and controversial step toward limiting which guns can be used and sold in state. The Illinois Supreme Court is being asked to weigh the law’s constitutionality.
Robert Crimo III, 22, appeared in court during a brief management hearing Tuesday. Lake County prosecutors outlined the extensive discovery evidence they are continuing to compile and turn over to the defense.
Police were called to Highland Park High School following a report of a student with a gun. The school was locked down Tuesday; no shots were fired.
According to an affidavit, the alleged gunman charged in last year’s Fourth of July shooting in Highland Park told FBI agents he mulled the possibility of deploying explosives in the attack.
Guns classified by the state of Illinois as "assault weapons" have been banned since Jan. 11. That means that hundreds — perhaps thousands — of guns can no longer be legally sold in Illinois. Those who already own guns and ammunition covered by the ban can keep them; they must be registered with the state.
Father of Man Charged in Highland Park Parade Shooting Pleads Not Guilty to Reckless Conduct Charges
Robert Crimo, Jr., 58, pleaded not guilty to seven counts of felony reckless conduct during a brief hearing Thursday, one day after a Lake County grand jury indicted him on those charges.
The indictment charges Robert Crimo Jr., 58, with seven counts of reckless conduct. Prosecutors have said he helped his son, Robert Crimo III, obtain a gun license years before the shooting in Highland Park, even though the then-19-year-old had threatened violence.
Illinois lawmakers are pressing forward with an attempt to ban certain firearms they describe as assault weapons, but gun rights advocates say it’s a fruitless effort that will be tossed by the courts.