Survivors and witnesses of the 2022 Fourth of July parade mass shooting in Highland Park emotionally recounted their experiences at the gunman’s sentencing hearing Wednesday, despite Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III choosing not to attend.
Crimo, 24, pleaded guilty last month to 69 counts, including 21 counts of murder, for the attack that killed seven people and wounded nearly 50 others at the July 4, 2022, parade approximately 30 miles outside Chicago. He faces mandatory life imprisonment without parole, as Illinois has abolished capital punishment.
More than 10 survivors, victims’ family members, first responders, and witnesses had prepared victim impact statements but were denied the opportunity to address Crimo directly after Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart informed the court that the defendant had declined to attend his sentencing, opting to remain in jail.
Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti noted that Crimo had been previously informed that sentencing would proceed regardless of his presence.
Dana Ruder Ring, a Highland Park mother, delivered one of the first testimonies, describing how she helped a young boy to safety during the attack. According to officials, Crimo opened fire from a rooftop into crowded streets below at approximately 10:14 a.m. on the day of the shooting.
During the chaos, Ring encountered a woman and child covered in blood. The woman handed her the baby, saying, “Blood’s not ours; baby is not mine.”
Ring testified that she wrapped the boy in a blanket and eventually reunited him with his family. She recalled that the boy “was covered in blood” and “had one shoe missing.”
“I was just in mom mode,” Ring told the court, describing her actions.
Courtroom attendees were visibly emotionalโsighing deeply, wiping tears, and covering their mouthsโas prosecutors displayed images and videos from the tragic event.
The shooting claimed the lives of Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; and married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35.
Gerald Cameron Jr., a retired Highland Park Police Department investigations commander, described hearing “a rhythmic pace, at which point I believed to be gunfire,” as parade attendees “frantically panicked.”
“People were still running, yelling, and screaming for help,” Cameron stated during his victim impact testimony.
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