Highland Park gunman sentenced to life in prison without parole
- Published
The gunman who killed seven people at a 2022 Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Thursday.
Robert Crimo III, 23, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder charges in March. After listening to witness testimony over two days, Judge Victoria Rossetti gave him seven back-to-back life sentences for each murder victim plus 50 years for attempted murder.
Crimo opened fire on crowds celebrating at a the Fourth of July in Highland Park, a city 30 miles (50 kilometres) north of Chicago.
The victims of the shooting ranged from an eight-year-old boy, paralysed from the waist down, to a young couple and an 88-year-old-man who were killed.
The gunman "has a complete disregard for human life" and "is irretrievably depraved, permanently incorrigible, irreparably corrupt and beyond any rehabilitation," the judge said before handing down the maximum sentence.
On Wednesday, survivors of the mass shooting told their stories in emotional testimony. Though Crimo decided not to appear in court, many witnesses addressed him directly, calling him "cowardly" and a "monster".
The day of the shooting was captured on video as parade performers and attendees scrambled for safety.
Crimo fled the scene, leaving his semiautomatic rifle behind.
After a manhunt, authorities apprehended him in the neighbouring state of Wisconsin the same day.
Those killed in the shooting were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; and married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35.
More than 40 others were injured.
After the sentencing, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering spoke about the symbolism of the attack happening on the Fourth of July holiday.
"Our peer nations can't understand how we put up with this and I recognize that we as a community, we're coming together to celebrate freedom," Rotering said according to NBC News, external.
"But how free are you if you're constantly worried that somebody's going to come leave 83 bullets on your community in under a minute? That's not freedom."
Crimo initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, but changed his plea in March.
His father, Robert Crimo Jr., was convicted in 2023 after pleading guilty to misdemeanour counts of reckless conduct for helping his son acquire a firearms ownership identification card. He served about one month in a county jail, winning early release from his 60-day sentence with good behaviour.