US Independence Anniversary Parade Shooting Suspect Charged With Seven Charges Of Grade 1 Murder

Ilustrasi. (Wikimedia Commons/Oregon Department of Transportation)

JAKARTA - A man accused of firing a rifle from a rooftop into a crowd watching a July 4 US Independence Anniversary parade near Chicago, turning holiday celebrations into another national tragedy, was charged Tuesday with seven counts of first-degree murder.

If convicted, the suspect, 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III, will face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, Illinois state attorney Eric Reinhard said in announcing the charges at a news conference.

Prosecutors said the first-degree charge was followed by dozens of additional charges before the investigation was completed, and that he would request that Crimo remain held without bail at the suspect's first court appearance on Wednesday.

Authorities said Crimo had been planning the attack for weeks and had come to the attention of authorities at least twice previously over reports that he threatened suicide or endangered others, local officials said Tuesday.

In addition, authorities also revealed, the suspect fired more than 70 bullets from a rooftop at random at people watching Monday's parade in Highland Park, Illinois, and then fled in disguise to blend in with the panic-stricken crowd.

As previously reported, six people were killed and 36 others injured in a shooting during the US Anniversary parade on the outskirts of Chicago's Highland Park. The police immediately arrested Crimo shortly after the heartbreaking incident occurred.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office posted a wanted poster online for Crimo, showing a bearded, skinny man with face and neck tattoos. It is said he weighs 120 pounds (54 kg) and is 5 feet 11 inches (1 meter 80 cm) tall.

Crimo appears to have published several self-made rap songs using the artist's stage name "Awake The Rapper."

President Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill were "shocked by the senseless gun violence that has once again brought sorrow to the American community this Independence Day."

President Biden, said he had "stepped up federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter."

In his statement, President Biden referred to the bipartisan gun reform law he signed recently but said more needed to be done and added: "I will not give up fighting the gun violence epidemic."