The father of the suspected 21-year-old gunman who shot seven people dead and injured another 46 said that he does not regret helping him buy guns.
Bob Crimo assisted his son Robert [Bobby] in obtaining the permit that helped him purchase the firearms he allegedly used to carry out the Highland Park shooting on July 4 in Illinois.
"I filled out the consent form to allow my son to go through the process that the Illinois State Police have in place for an individual to obtain a FOID card," Bob Crimo told ABC News. "They do background checks. Whatever that entails, I'm not exactly sure. And either you're approved or denied, and he was approved."
Advert
The application was made just two months after Robert threatened to 'kill everyone' inside the family home in December 2019, which resulted in the police being called.
There is now going to be a criminal investigation into how the alleged shooter obtained his weapons, but his father said that he does not regret helping him to get the permit even after his threatening behaviour.
"Do I regret that? No, not three years ago - signing a consent form to go through the process… that's all it was.
"Had I purchased guns throughout the years and given them to him in my name, that's a different story. But he went through that whole process himself."
Bob added that his son purchased his firearms independently and he did not give him the money.
The Independent reports that the suspected shooter, who was also known as 'Awake the Rapper', had not previously been known to authorities despite a number of disturbing social media posts.
This included a music video depicting a shooting while he rapped 'f**k this world'.
Bob went on to address his son's 2019 threat to 'kill everyone', saying: "Making threats to the family… I think [that was] taken out of context.
"It's like just a child's outburst, whatever he was upset about, and I think his sister called the police - I wasn't living there."
"This isn't Bobby," his father went on to say of his son's alleged actions on July 4. "I guess that's why it's so hard to wrap yourself around it. It doesn't add up."
Robert appeared on court for the first time on Wednesday (July 6) changed with seven counts of first degree murder.
He made a 'voluntary statement confessing to his actions' at the hearing and said he had planned on committing another attack in Madison, Wisconsin.
Topics: US News
Emma Guinness