Police called to suspect's home 'a number' of times before July 4 shooting

Robert Crimo III is accused of killing 7 people in the Highland Park shooting.

July 7, 2022, 8:10 PM

Police have been called to the home of the alleged Highland Park parade shooter "a number of times" since 2002, Lake County Police Deputy Chief Chris Covelli tells ABC News.

Lake County police were called for various reasons, mostly domestic-related. Very few incidents involved the suspected shooter, 21-year-old Robert Crimo III, according to Covelli.

Documents released by the city Thursday show that in one instance, police conducted a well-being check on April 29, 2019, a week after Crimo "attempted to commit suicide by machette [sic]."

PHOTO: Police investigate outside the home of the mother of the man detained after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade route in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022.
Police investigate outside the home of the mother of the man detained after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade route in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022.
Cheney Orr/Reuters

Crimo "has a history of attempts," the police report stated while noting that the then-18-year-old did not make any threats against himself or others on the day of the visit.

Police returned to the home several months later, on Sept. 5, 2019, for another well-being check after Crimo "had made a threat in the household ... that he was going to kill everyone," according to the police report.

PHOTO: Robert E. Crimo III, a suspect in the deadly mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade route in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., is seen in this still image obtained from a social media video.
Robert E. Crimo III, a suspect in the deadly mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade route in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., is seen in this still image obtained from a social media video.
Robert Crimo via Reuters

Officers seized a 24-inch "Samurai-type blade," a 12-inch dagger and 16 hand knives belonging to Crimo's father, according to the report.

Other records show that police responded to the home following reports of domestic disturbances, including verbal alteractions, on multiple occasions between 2009 and 2014.

PHOTO: The Crimo family home in an affluent North suburban Chicago suburb where Robert E. Crimo III grew up is shown on July 6, 2022, in Highwood, Ill.
The Crimo family home in an affluent North suburban Chicago suburb where Robert E. Crimo III grew up is shown on July 6, 2022, in Highwood, Ill.
Alexandra Buxbaum/Shutterstock

Crimo is accused of opening fire at an Independence Day parade, killing seven people and injuring dozens of others. The suspect plotted another attack in Madison, Wisconsin, authorities said Wednesday, but did not follow through.

Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in the wake of Monday morning's mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. More charges are expected, Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said.

According to prosecutors, Crimo confessed to the shooting.

PHOTO: Shana Gutman and her mom Eadie Bear, lifelong residents of Highland Park, Ill., look at the Central Avenue scene, July 5, 2022, the day after a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade.
Shana Gutman and her mom Eadie Bear, lifelong residents of Highland Park, Ill., look at the Central Avenue scene, July 5, 2022, the day after a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade. They said they frequently attend the parade but didn't this year.
Tribune News Service via Getty Images

State police said Wednesday there will be an investigation into the culpability of Crimo's father, who signed a consent form for his son to apply for gun ownership in 2019, in the massacre.

His father, Bobby Crimo Jr., told ABC News he is not culpable in the July 4 attack.

ABC News' Josh Margolin contributed to this report.