The man identified as a person of interest after six were killed and dozens more injured at an Independence Day parade on Monday obtained his firearm legally, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said Tuesday.
The high-powered rifle was “legally obtained” by Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III outside of Highland Park, Illinois, which has a ban on assault weapons, Rotering told NPR’s Leila Fadel.
POLICE ARREST PERSON OF INTEREST IN JULY FOURTH PARADE SHOOTING
“He’s not a resident of Highland Park. And he somehow was able to obtain this gun. The fact that he was in our town with it was a breach of our ordinance, but we know that throughout Illinois and Wisconsin and Indiana, neighboring states and so forth, there are far different laws, and he was able to obtain it,” Rotering said.
In 2013, city officials in Highland Park passed an ordinance banning AR-15s and AK-47s.
Rotering argued that gun laws should be reexamined nationally in the wake of Monday’s mass shooting, which she said are becoming “weekly events.”
“The laws aren’t doing their job if people can’t go out to enjoy a Fourth of July parade with their grandparents without fear,” Rotering said. “We did what we could. We did what we could within the confines of current existing law. We need our nation’s leaders to take necessary steps to prevent further carnage in people’s hometowns.”
No charges have been filed against Crimo, though Rotering said she expects prosecutors to levy charges later Tuesday.
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The 21-year-old is believed to have taken a firearm to the top of a roof overlooking the parade north of Chicago before opening fire on the crowd. Crimo was arrested several hours later in Lake Forest, Illinois, several miles away from the site.
A “significant amount of digital evidence” led to Crimo’s capture, officials said Monday.
