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 in a Chicago suburb 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 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.
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.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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