A man charged Tuesday with seven counts of first-degree murder after firing more than 70 rounds at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally purchased five firearms, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite police being called to his house twice in 2019 due to threats of violence and suicide.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said the suspect, if convicted of first-degree murder charges, would face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Tried to commit suicide
A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force said the suspect, who was arrested Monday night, used a rifle “similar to an AR-15-class semi-automatic rifle” to fire more than 70 rounds from the top of an office building at people gathered for the parade in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago.
See: Highland Park parade shooting: “It looked like a war zone, it was terrible”
At the scene of the shooting at the Chicago parade , six people were killed and a seventh victim died of his injuries on Tuesday. More than thirty other people were wounded in the attack, which task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said the suspect had planned weeks before.
The attack took place less than three years after the police went to the home of the suspect at the invitation of a family member who said he was threatening “to kill everyone”. Covelli said police then seized 16 knives, a dagger, and a sword, but said there were no signs he had a weapon at the time, in September 2019.
In April 2019, the police also responded to a reported suicide attempt by a suspect, Covelli said.
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Legally bought weapons
The suspect legally purchased the rifle used in the Illinois attack within the past year, Covelli said. In total, he bought five firearms, which the police officers found in his father’s house.
Illinois State Police, which issues gun licenses, said the gunman applied for a license in December 2019, when he was 19 years old. His father paid for the permit application.
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At the time, “there were insufficient grounds to establish a clear and present danger” and deny the request, state police said in a statement.
Reuters also reported that the suspect in the Chicago-area parade shooting is charged with 7 counts of murder.
Investigators who questioned the suspect and reviewed his social media posts did not determine a motive or find any indication that he targeted victims based on race, religion, or any other basis, Covelli said.
