Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III, 22, has yet to be formally charged in the shooting, which authorities have said they believe he carried out by climbing onto the rooftop of a nearby business and opening fire on the parade minutes after it started.
He was captured after a brief chase when an officer attempted a traffic stop.
The weapon is described as a high-powered rifle, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was running tests on the recovered weapon and ammunition.
Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said that investigators believe that the suspect, Robert E. Crimo III, planned the attack for several weeks.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering was interviewed on the Today Show this morning, and said the weapon was purchased legally. Rotering explained she had been the suspect’s Cub Scout leader when “he was just a little boy.”
Paul Crimo, the uncle of the suspect, was interviewed by a local news station, and said there were no signs that his nephew would do this.
The suspect lived in an apartment behind a house in Highwood, Illinois, owned by his father, said Paul Crimo, who also lives at the house. He last saw his nephew Sunday evening, he said, sitting on a recliner in the house and looking on his computer.
Paul Crimo said that his nephew was last working at a Panera Bread before the pandemic, and had since become an artist on YouTube. He had not seen signs of violence or knew of his political views, saying his nephew was a quiet, lonely person.
The suspect’s father and Paul Crimo’s brother, Robert Crimo Jr., previously ran for mayor, he said. “We are good people here, and to have this is devastating.”
The suspect’s father, Bob Crimo, has a Twitter account where he is following one other account — the now suspended account of the former president.
The Times of Israel reports that the suspect had entered a local synagogue during the Jewish festival of Passover in April.
Rabbi Yosef Schanowitz recognized the photo of 22-year-old Robert E. Crimo III released by police following the shooting, and realized he had encountered the suspect a few months earlier.
“During the last Passover holiday, that person entered the Chabad synagogue. We have an armed security guard sitting in front… I approached him and sternly asked him to leave as I noticed he was not a member of our community,” Schanowitz was quoted as saying.