Trial for father of Highland Park mass shooting suspect to begin in fall

The trial for the father of the man accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens more at the Highland Park, Illinois, 2022 Fourth of July parade is scheduled to begin in fall, a judge decided Friday.

Robert Crimo, Jr. was charged by the Lake County State's Attorney's Office in December 2022 with seven counts of reckless conduct. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Lake County Judge George Strickland scheduled his trial to start at the end of October or the beginning of November. Another hearing in the case is scheduled for July 14.

Prosecutors allege Crimo Jr. was "criminally reckless" when he signed his son's application for an Illinois Firearm Owners Identification card nearly three years before the massacre. The card is required to purchase a gun in Illinois.

His son, Robert "Bobby" E. Crimo III, who was 21 years old at the time of the shooting, faces charges of first-degree murder for his alleged firing of more than 70 rounds with a rifle from a rooftop during the holiday parade, fatally striking seven people. He pleaded not guilty to 117 criminal charges, including 21 counts of first-degree murder.

The elder Crimo, who has previously denied any responsibility in the mass shooting, agreed to sponsor his son's gun license in 2019, months after local police received a report the son had said "he was going to kill everyone" in his family, police previously said.

Officers also had checked on the younger Crimo earlier that year after he had "attempted to commit suicide by machete," according to a police report. An attorney for the parents previously disputed details of the incidents in the police reports.