The gunman accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens in a Fourth of July shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, was indicted on 117 charges on Wednesday.
Robert E. Crimo III faces 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder, and 48 counts of aggravated battery, according to Politico.
Prosecutors said Wednesday that the 48 attempted murder counts and 48 counts of aggravated battery represent “each victim who was struck by a bullet, bullet fragment or shrapnel.”
Crimo will appear in court on Aug. 3. Authorities have yet to determine a motive, according to Fox News.
Police have said Crimo confessed to the shooting after he was arrested.
As the legal process moves forward, a long healing process continues for victims, including Cooper Roberts, 8, who is paralyzed from the waist down from a bullet fired in the attack, according to Politico.
His mother, Keely Roberts, said her son has a long road ahead to recover after a bullet damaged his aorta, liver, esophagus and spinal cord before leaving through his chest.
I cried watching because my heart breaks but also gleams for hope for her, Cooper, Luke and her family, and all the good she does and will do even in her darkest moments. This year has to be the year of SEL – there is no other choice. https://t.co/97SQotDZGe
— Sara Boucek (@sboucek) July 27, 2022
Should the shooter in this case get the death penalty?
She praised “the unbelievably generous, caring, good and kind spirit that makes up the vast majority of our world.”
“He’s gonna teach a whole lot of people that the lesson in this is not that one person did this horrible thing,” she said. “The lesson in this is that thousands of people did great things, kind things and continue to do kind things.”
As for Crimo, his father, Robert Crimo Jr., said he’s “furious” about the incident.
“I want a long sentence,” Robert Crimo Jr. said, according to the New York Post.
“That’s life. You know you have consequences for actions. He made a choice. He didn’t have to do that. I think there’s mental illness there, obviously. … I didn’t see a lot of it.”
Robert Crimo Jr. said his son was not motivated by hate.
“I’m speechless with that. It just took me by such surprise. It’s horrible,” he said.
“It’s surreal. I mean essentially I lost a son, too. It sucks,” he said.
