Robert ‘Bobby’ Crimo III, also known as Awake the Rapper, is the 22-year-old suspect in the shooting deaths of six people during a July 4th parade in the affluent Highland Park neighborhood of Chicago.
According to reports, the shooter, who has since been apprehended, shot people in the crowd who initially mistook the sound of gunshots for fireworks on July 4th, opening fire from the roof of what was once an outdoor outfitting store.
Crimo is a native of Highland Park. The perpetrator sang, “My actions will be brave and my thought is needless, I know what I have to do, I know what’s in it, not only for myself, but for everyone else,” in one song.
Awake is the stage name of the suspect, a rapper.
Authorities characterized Crimo as being white, between the ages of 18 and 20, having a “slight frame,” and having long black hair. He is dressed in a white or blue t-shirt and launched an attack with what appeared to be a semiautomatic weapon, which he then abandoned before running away.
Police previously stated that they were attempting to identify the owner of the weapon they discovered in the hopes that it would lead them to him.
The FBI claims that Crimo has tattoos of four tally marks with a line across them on his right cheek, red roses and green leaves on his neck, and the word “Awake” written in cursive above his left brow.
The federal government said that Crimo has connections to the Illinois towns of Elgin, DeKalb, and Rockford.
The suspect is a “rapper, singer, songwriter, actor and filmmaker from Chicago,” according to his IMDb website.
The music video for the rapper’s song “On My Mind” has received the most views on his YouTube page. The suspect is seen in a classroom on the video.
Both of Crimo’s formerly active channels have been removed for “violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines.”
The song starts off as a slow ballad with the lyrics “You’re always on my mind.” I want to have you as mine, cute with the large ass. Time is running out for me. Soon we can smoke, relax online, and miss class.
The speed of the song abruptly changes as Crimo reaches into his backpack. When the music resumes, it is dubbed with maniacal laughter, quick piano music, and a powerful drum rhythm. The screen goes black.
The next scene in the video shows the culprit grinning as the classroom is looted.
As Crimo falls to the ground gripping his face and spilling bullets to the ground, he is wearing a battle helmet.
According to his IMDb page, he was raised in a Highland Park, Illinois, Italian-American household as the middle child of three.
According to the biography, his music career started when he was 11 years old when Crimo started posting music online.
His Spotify page describes his music as being in the LoFi rap genre. He has released three albums, the first of which was titled “Messages” in 2017 and was followed by “Observer” in 2018 and “Awake the Rapper” in 2021.
He issued an EP this year under the name “Brainwashed.” “Dead Again” and “I Am the Storm” were among the songs.
On Spotify, Crimo receives 16,46 plays on average per month.
The suspect tweeted: “I am not a robot” in his most recent message from October 2021 on his artist Twitter page.
Given that Bob Crimo, Crimo’s father, is running for mayor of the town of Highland Park in 2019, Crimo looks to have a lengthy history with the community. It doesn’t seem like a political party supported his campaign. He ran with the motto “A Person for the People.”
Owner of Bob’s Pantry and Deli in Highland Park is Bob Crimo. Bob Crimo was depicted with his wife Denise in a 2018 article with the Chicago Tribune. He calls his establishment “family-run and family-oriented.”
Less than 15 minutes had passed since the parade’s start when the gunman started his attack.
The accounts of witnesses who observed youngsters being picked off in the mob are now coming in.
Five adults were among the six fatalities from the parade. In the hospital, the sixth victim passed away. We do not yet know their age.
Grandfather Nicholas Toledo was one of those who died. His passing was confirmed by his family to CBS.
Unsettling videos that DailyMail.com was able to obtain show the gunman firing a hail of bullets at first, stopping — probably to reload — and then starting again.
According to Brigham Temple, MD, the medical director of emergency preparedness for Northshore University Health System, they received 20 patients, 10 of whom arrived by ambulance, ranging in age from 8 to 85.
He stated that four out of the five patients were kids. One of the kids who arrived at Northshore was initially unable to be moved because they were too critically ill. He was stabilized before being flown to a Chicago children’s hospital.
Some of the patients, according to Temple, were in critical condition.
19 of the 25 patients with gunshot wounds who were admitted to the hospital were treated and sent home.
One needed to be sent to the hospital in Evanston. At Northshore, two patients are still receiving care.
‘Managing an event like this is a little weird,’ he remarked.
However, we have all received intensive training.
A group of therapists and counselors, he claimed, were waiting. One of three hospitals accepting patients from the parade shooting was his.
The Highland Park High School football team and marching band members are all safe and accounted for, according to a statement from the Township High School District 113.
the afternoon of Monday:
Police are still looking for the gunman, a white male between the ages of 18 and 20, with long black hair and a slim build.
ATF agents are attempting to locate him by linking the name of his high-powered weapon to a specific person.
It was discovered that the shooter used a ladder to ascend to the roof of a building from an alley.
Highland Park officials searched for the families of the five adults who died.
Survivors described how they placed their children in trash cans to protect them from the bullets.
In light of the shooting, President Biden called for stronger gun reform, and Democrats criticized it as ironic that it occurred on
Independence Day and claimed that no one in America is immune to gun violence.
While other Democrats who have been adamantly demanding gun reform since the Uvalde school shooting on May 24 invoked irony to make their renewed demands for change, the governor of Illinois was among the first to call for an end to gun violence.
No place in the USA is truly free because there is always a threat of gun violence. Assistant U.S. House Speaker Katherine Clark tweeted, “Heartbroken for Highland Park.”
Witnesses claimed to have seen shots fired at children during the parade. Adults have been involved in every confirmed death to date.
“Suddenly, everyone in our rear started sprinting. When I turned to look, I noticed a girl who had been shot and murdered about 20 feet behind me. I witnessed her demise. I’ve never seen anything like this, a woman who spoke to CNN and went by the name of Zoe said.
Police claim that a “rifle” was found at the scene, however witnesses claimed to have seen many bullets being shot rapidly, which they believe could only have come from a semi-automatic.
A firearm? No, no. The weapon was automatic. She remarked, “It was pop, pop, pop; rifles don’t do that.”
President Biden released a statement on Monday afternoon. He has been advocating for gun control ever since the Uvalde incident on May 24 that left 19 people dead.
He praised the recent passage of a gun control bill and declared his support for the mayor of Highland Park and the governor of Illinois.
“I recently signed into law the first significant piece of bipartisan legislation on gun control in in thirty years, which includes measures that will save lives.”
However, he continued, “There is still so much work to be done, and I’m not going to give up battling the plague of gun violence.”
“There are no words for the kind of monster who waits and fires into a crowd of families with children spending a holiday with their community,” stated Governor JB Pritzker in a statement.
“There are no words to describe the kind of wickedness that deprives our neighbors of their futures, hopes, and dreams.
I am at a loss for words to ease the suffering of those they leave behind. We must – and we will – put an end to this gun violence epidemic, and I will stand firm with Americans and Illinoisans in this.
The young girl who was shot in the head was for the children and dogs that had just passed by when the shooter started firing, according to Zoe, the witness.
One man was bleeding profusely all over after being shot in the head and his ear, and he said, “I’m just glad that’s all happened.”
Another female victim who was shot in the leg was escorted out. We spent a considerable amount of time hiding in the cellar.
Then, when we returned to get our cars, we noticed that the streets were quite littered. “I mean, someone, 20 feet away, you know, someone.”
It was revolting and resembled a battle zone.
It was — well, everybody obviously remembers the Boston Marathon shooting, like a happy marathon, and it’s just a happy day. The Fourth of July is today.
It was a dog parade and children’s procession. pets and young children riding bikes.
She said, “That’s who had just walked by.”
It is feared that there are children among the dead after witnesses described a “sickening” scene.
“I witnessed numerous dead bodies and people submerged in a pool of blood.”
One father who made it out alive dumped his son in a trash can.
I saw the destruction, said Miles Zaremsky, a 74-year-old attorney who has lived in Highland Park for 60 years. I went for a 20-minute walk from my place because the weather was good.
“I heard several gunfire and initially believed it to be fireworks…” nonetheless, I heard several gunfire, perhaps 30 or 35 pops.
“The crowd broke into a stampede.” I’d never seen anything like that. On some people’s bodies, I spotted blood.
“Two or three persons [between the ages of 25 and 40] seemed dead to me.” It was so awful and heartbreaking that I felt ill to my stomach.
“I did see a young boy in his parents’ arms who appeared [pale] and was covered with blood.” They shouted for medical help.
It’s unbelievable; it seems like something from science fiction, yet it’s true.
Since 1966, my wife and I have called Highland Park home. It is a lovely, endearing, tranquil, and law-abiding village.
If it can occur here, it can also occur in any American neighborhood.
With 30,000 residents, the wealthy suburban city of Highland Park is located. There is a sizable Jewish population in the region and most of the residents are families, but there is no indication that the attack was anti-Semitic.
A Hasidic Jewish band was among those taking part in the march. One startling video showed them moving slowly up the parade route on a float while individuals in front of them fled in the other direction after becoming immediately aware of the danger.
The incident was witnessed by Rainan Eli, a 19-year-old real estate student, through the window of his flat on Central Avenue and Second Street.
I was observing the procession while studying for a class I was taking. Since it was the Fourth of July, everyone initially believed the flurry of activity was the result of pyrotechnics, he told DailyMail.com.
Eli reached for his cellphone and captured heartbreaking footage of people fleeing and looking for cover as gunfire could be heard in the distance.
He claimed that two additional apartment building tenants joined him in going downstairs to provide beverages to the 15 to 20 individuals gathered in the foyer.
Highland Park resident Debbie Glickman claimed that she and her colleagues were on a parade float and were about to turn onto the main route when they noticed people fleeing the scene.
People began yelling, “There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter,” Glickman recalled.
So we simply fled. We simply fled. There, it’s like total mayhem. She said, “I’m really scared.
“We can’t believe this occurred in our tiny town,” someone said.
‘We were open early for the parade and upon hearing what sounded like fireworks, we noticed that people started running down the street,’ said Matt Phillip, 36, director of tasting room operations at Lynfred Winery.
“We opened our doors so they could either seek refuge inside our building or leave out our back-alley door,” the statement continued.
Michael Jordan owns a home there, and it’s also the location of the enormous mansion seen in the Home Alone movie. Highland Park is known for being one of Chicago’s wealthiest suburbs.
It is surrounded by a collection of affluent suburbs on the North Shore of Lake Michigan.
At a press conference on Monday with law enforcement, the town’s mayor, Nancy Rotering, gave a brief statement to express her condolences to the families of those killed.
Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago, wrote on Twitter: “The tragedy in Highland Park is devastating.
The Chicago Police Department is assisting, and I have spoken with Mayor Rotering and given our help.
We express our condolences to the bereaved and injured parties’ families as well as to the entire Highland Park neighborhood.
‘Law enforcement is making every effort to apprehend the shooter.
We urge anyone with knowledge to phone 911 and share what they know.
In contrast to Chicago, which has one of the worst records for gun violence in the nation, violent crime is virtually unheard of in Highland Park.
In April 2022, the median price of a property in Highland Park was $714,000, and there were about 30,000 people living there.