Authorities said Crimo was spotted by a North Chicago officer who attempted a traffic stop. Crimo led officers on a short chase before being stopped. He was taken into custody without incident and will be transferred to the Highland Park Police Department, where the fatal shooting occurred earlier Monday.
Earlier, while law enforcement was searching for Crimo, police described him as a “person of interest” and the FBI said, “He is wanted for his alleged involvement in the shooting of multiple individuals at the Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois.”
The capture ended an intense manhunt in the Chicago area after the shooting upended Independence Day celebrations in cities across the region.
Evidence of a gunshot was found on the roof of a business near the shooting, Police Commander Chris O’Neill said earlier. The shooter used a ladder attached to the building on an alley wall to reach the roof, said Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.
The gun was a “powerful rifle” and the attack appeared to be “random” and “premeditated,” Covelli said.
Authorities are working to trace the firearm to determine who purchased it and where it came from, according to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokeswoman Kim Nerheim.
Covelli told reporters that SWAT members and other officials evacuated people from buildings within a certain radius of the shooting.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said the five people who died at the scene were adults. One person died at a hospital, she said, but no further information was available on the victim.
Highland Park Fire Chief Joe Schrage said his department transported 23 people to hospitals, and other victims were taken to police cars or bystanders’ personal vehicles.
A total of 26 patients were admitted to Highland Park Hospital, according to Dr. Brigham Temple, medical director of NorthShore University Health System. The patients ranged in age from 8 years old to 85 years old — four or five were children, according to Temple.
He said 19 of the 25 gunshot victims were treated and released. There were gunshot wounds on the limbs as well as the central parts of the bodies, he added.
The shooting sent hundreds of parade attendees fleeing and prompted a large police response from local, state and federal officials, including the FBI. Heavily armed officers patrolled the streets of Highland Park Monday afternoon, and others were stationed on rooftops with sniper rifles.
Zoe Pavelczak, who attended the Independence Day parade with her father, said parade-goers initially thought the multiple pops were fireworks given the occasion.
“And I was like, something’s wrong. I grabbed my dad and started running. Suddenly everyone behind us started running,” she said. “I looked back probably 20 feet away from me. I saw a girl shot and killed.”
They hid behind a dumpster for about an hour until police moved them to a sporting goods store and then eventually escorted them back to their car, she said. She saw one man who had been shot in the ear and had blood all over his face and another girl who had been shot in the leg, she said.
“It looked like a war zone and it’s disgusting. It’s really disgusting,” she said.
The incident marks at least the 308th mass shooting in the U.S. this year, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks such incidents. The organization defines a mass shooting as one involving four or more people shot, not including the shooter.
There were 11 mass shootings in the first four days of July, including three on July 4 alone in Richmond, Virginia; Chicago and Highland Park, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The carnage underscores an already bloody American spring and summer, including a racist attack by an 18-year-old in a New York supermarket that killed 10 people and another 18-year-old’s shooting at a school in Texas that left 19 students and two teachers dead. .
As a result of these massacres, President Joe Biden just nine days ago signed the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades, marking a significant bipartisan breakthrough on one of Washington’s most contentious political issues.
Witnesses say the shots sparked a stampede
Witnesses at the scene who spoke to CNN described a peaceful parade punctuated by the sudden shooting and chaos that followed.
Miles Zaremski said he heard what he believed to be about 20 to 30 gunshots, in two consecutive gunshots, around 10:20 a.m. CT, shortly after the parade began. He told CNN he saw several bloodied people on the ground and described the scene as chaotic.
Video taken by a witness, Hugo Aguilera, shows an ambulance turning around on the parade route and a police car with sirens blaring as people gather on the grassy sidewalk. Aerial video from CNN affiliate WLS shows abandoned lawn chairs up and down the parade route amid a heavy police presence.
Warren Fried, who attended the parade with his wife and 7-year-old twins, said he watched police and an ambulance drive past him in the parade and then heard a series of gunshots. People started yelling “shooter” and “run” and he and his family ran to their car for safety.
“People were hiding, children were on the streets looking for their parents, just in a state of shock,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, a Democrat who represents the district, told CNN he had just arrived in Highland Park when shots were fired and was told to go around.
“Everyone scattered and ran. As I was walking around, I came across a group of small children trying to call their parents to say they were okay,” he said. “So I stopped and offered them to use my phone. There were a lot of cars moving so I helped direct the traffic for a bit.’
Jeff Leon, 57, told CNN the shots sounded like “fireworks going off in a trash can” and it wasn’t until he saw officers responding that he realized something had happened.
“The police started responding and I saw some people go down,” Leon said. “We just took off. And, you know, we, we’d hide behind the cars, fold into the next car and make our way.”
Jose Alamar, an employee at a nearby gas station, said about 20 people ran into the gas station and took shelter after the shooting began.
The suburb of Highland Park has a population of about 30,000 and has a per capita income of about $90,000, nearly three times the U.S. average, according to U.S. Census data. The July 4th parade was expected to include dancing, marching bands, novelty bands, community entrances and other special entertainment, the city said on its website. It was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CT at the intersection of Laurel and St. Johns Avenue and was supposed to head north on St. Johns Avenue and then west on Central Avenue and continue toward Sunset Park, the city said. Nearby suburbs, including Deerfield and Evanston, canceled their July 4th parades after the shooting. Events in other nearby communities were canceled.
The Chicago White Sox will observe a moment of silence before their home game, but have canceled the fireworks after the game.
Chuck Johnston, Carol Alvarado, Dakin Andone, Victor Blackwell, Sarah Weisfeld, Melissa Alonso, Michelle Krupa, Mark Morales, Lin Tran and Claudia Dominguez contributed to this report from CNN.
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