In 2022, a mass shooting took place at an Independence Day Parade in Highland Park, Chicago, Illinois. 7 innocent people lost their lives and another 50 were injured by bullets and shrapnel. The shooting, which occurred around 10:15 a.m., took place approximately 15 minutes after the parade had even started. Later that day, after a lengthy search, authorities found and arrested the shooter. The man arrested was 24 year old Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III, who up until very recently pleaded not guilty of the shooting.
However, On March 3, 2025, he finally pleaded guilty on all 69 counts of murder and attempted murder. This is quite a turnaround for Crimo, who previously only pleaded not guilty, which set his original sentencing for April 23, 2025. According to prosecutors, he is said to have left his semi-automatic weapon at the scene, and driven for more than two hours to Wisconsin after fleeing. Prosecutors said that Crimo shot at celebrating crowds from a rooftop in downtown Highland Park, disguised in women’s clothing. They also turned in thousands of pages of evidence, and a videotaped interrogation of Crimo confessing to the shooting. La Jolla High School sophomore, Adelyn LaFever says, “I didn’t hear about [the shooting], but my parents did just because I’m from Chicago…I wish the best to the victims’ families and I’m glad he’s getting the time he deserves.” The biggest takeaway is that Crimo took the lives of 7 innocent people, who all had beautiful lives that didn’t deserve to be ended. The victims included 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. Not to mention, about 50 others were injured, with victims ages ranging from their 80s to an eight year old boy, who was paralyzed. As a result of his guilty plea, Robert E. Crimo III will spend the rest of his life in prison without the chance of parole.