Highland Park shooter Robert Crimo threatened to kill his family years before the July 4th massacre

• Police revealed that the Highland Park shooter threatened to kill his family in 2019.
• Robert Crimo III, 21, massacred seven people at a July 4th parade.
• He faces life in prison.

Warning signs of the July 4th tragedy. Robert Crimo, charged with the Highland Park mass shooting, attempted suicide once and then threatened to «kill everyone». He also had a large knife collection. Even after that he was still able to legally buy rifles and pistols, the authorities revealed on Tuesday, July 5.

Authorities reported that Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, 21, had legally purchased at least five firearms, including the AR-15-style rifle he allegedly used in Monday’s massacre, after his two troubled interactions with law enforcement in 2019, according to the New York Post.

Highland Park shooter attempted suicide years ago

Officials said police officers were called to the home of Robert Crimo in April 2019 after receiving a report that he had attempted suicide a week earlier. Officers spoke with the young man and his parents, but the matter was handled by mental health professionals at the time, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference.

“There was no action by law enforcement. It was a mental health issue handled by those professionals,» Covelli said. A few months later, in September 2019, a concerned family member told police that Robert Crimo had made deadly threats against his relatives.

He threatened to murder his family

“A family member reported that Crimo said he was going to kill everyone and Crimo had a collection of knives. The police went to his home. The police responded to his residence. The police removed 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from Crimo’s home,” Covelli detailed, adding that there was no probable cause to arrest him at that time because none of his family members wanted to sign complaints about the incident.

Robert Crimo’s two previous brushes with law enforcement were revealed Tuesday, just a day after he allegedly shot seven people to death and wounded more than 40 at a Fourth of July parade in that Chicago suburb. Covelli indicated that the cache of firearms seized from the suspect was legally purchased by him in 2020 and 2021, after the 2019 incident in which his knives were seized.

They had already seized 16 knives, a dagger and a sword

Cops had immediately notified the Illinois State Police in the aftermath of the knife incident, but authorities said Robert Crimo did not own any weapons at the time, thus no firearms owner identification cards could have been revoked or revised.

However, when the young man applied for a firearms owner identification card three months after the knives were seized, his father sponsored his application because he was under 21, state police said in a statement, according to the Chicago Tribune, also cited by the NY Post.

Robert Crimo’s father claims he didn’t know about the threats

“The subject was under 21 and the application was sponsored by the subject’s father. Therefore, at the time of FOID application review in January of 2020, there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the FOID application.»

An attorney for Robert Crimo’s parents, Steven Greenberg, said his father Bob Crimo Jr. didn’t know about the threats or seized knives because the suspected gunman was living in his mother’s home at the time. He added that the parents didn’t monitor his online activities and didn’t know about the disturbing images and videos he posted.