Victim's loved ones denied chance to confront Highand 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.
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'Parcels kept disappearing from my doorstep but camera exposed the culprit'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Delivery companies sometimes make the decision to leave parcels on your front doorstep, leaving them exposed to the elements or the thieving hands of passers-by. But what would you do if you realised the people nicking your parcels were actually your new next-door neighbours? That's exactly what happened to one bloke, who moved into a flat complex with his girlfriend. They'd arranged a bed frame to be delivered to coincide with the day they were moving in, so they'd have somewhere to kip. "As we arrived, we shortly realised that the three packages were not where they had been left in the delivery picture and were nowhere to be found," he explained, leaving the pair of them baffled and rather distressed as the bed frame had set them back $900 (£667). He continued by saying that he "also noticed there were two separate drop-off locations between the two boxes". He added: "While two of the bigger boxes were left at the bottom of the stairwell (we live on the third floor), the last package was left at our doorstep. "I thought it was a bit strange that a 100 lb package was nicked directly off my doorstep and down two flights of stairs, so I had a small feeling it was one of our neighbours that we hadn't met". The anonymous man then shared that they managed to get another one shipped out, so they "left it at that," not wanting to cause a scene over something they had no evidence of. However, after another package was stolen from his doorstep shortly after delivery, he decided to install a Ring doorbell. Sharing his tale on Reddit, he told how a few weeks later, an alert showed him footage of his neighbour's child swiping a parcel from his welcome mat. Feeling utterly dismayed, he didn't hold back, confronting the situation head-on. He recounted: "So I used the talk feature and told them to return my package NOW and she said he didn't touch it. "She finally put the package back at the step and while she was going into her unit I heard her say on the camera now we have to throw away the... then it cut out." His frustration escalated as he revealed: "Right after they called us a**holes and went inside. While typing this I just saw them take a huge storage bucket full of random objects and throw them away. So they are definitely huge porch pirates!" Reddit users were incensed, quickly offering advice in the comment section. A user suggested: "Report them to management and the police. They are thieves." While another expressed sympathy and encouraged immediate action, saying: "What a horrible way to begin your life in that place. Please do take care of it asap. The longer you wait, the more they question. Like: well, why did they wait? Let us know what happens. Like who the f**k do these people think they are!" Another person fumed: "Oh hell no. Definitely report to the landlord in addition to the cops and start documenting and sharing anything you can to speed along an eviction so that you can live in peace. "Hell, I'd even take down the Ring so they think you're no longer recording, but put a hidden blink camera instead and have lots of small packages mailed of cheap things for additional evidence against them if the landlord doesn't handle it with the police reports and current video. "£1,000 isn't petty theft and deserves worse than petty revenge".
