The father of the confessed Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooter says he does not regret helping his son legally purchase guns, including the one he used in the killing spree.
Robert Crimo Jr., the shooter's father — a former Republican mayoral candidate — said that he thought his son, Robert Crimo III, was going to use the weapons at the shooting range. "He bought everything on his own and they're registered to him," he told the New York Post.
The father sponsored his son’s gun license application, which allowed Crimo III to legally buy four guns. This was true even though the 21-year-old had been on police officers' radar since 2019.
That was the year police were called to Crimo III's home because he had threatened to kill relatives. Following the incident, police confiscated a number of weapons from the then teen. They took a sword, dagger, and 15 knives from the shooter’s home.
His father referred to the incident as a "childish outburst" and compared his son's collection of weapons to his baseball card collection.
Despite helping his son, who had also attempted suicide, purchase weapons of war, Crimo Jr. does not hold himself accountable. “They make me like I groomed him to do all this,” he said of those who believe he played a role. “I’ve been here my whole life, and I’m gonna stay here, hold my head up high, because I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Crimo Jr. also said that while he loves his son, he's “furious” about what he did. He says that he wants Crimo III to pay for his crimes. “I want a long sentence.”
“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.”
Despite what the shooter's father has said, there had been over two dozen police calls to the home. In April 2019, police were called after the shooter attempted suicide using a machete. Despite police believing Crimo III presented a "clear and present danger," he was still able to legally purchase AR-15-style weapons.
