Highland Park shooter Robert Crimo appeared in front of the court for the first time on Wednesday where he is facing charges of 7 counts of first-degree murder. The criminal made a 'voluntary statement confessing to his actions at the hearing and said he had planned on committing another attack in Madison, Wisconsin.'
Bob Crimo, is the father of the alleged Highland Park shooter who shot and killed 7 people and injured several others during the July 4 parade.
The 46-year-old has now opened up about the incident and says that he does not regret helping his 21-year-old son in buying guns.
Reportedly, Bobby assisted his son Robert 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."
Police reports suggest the application was made two months after Robert threatened to 'kill everyone' inside the family home in December 2019, which resulted in the police being called.
A criminal investigation is now underway to learn how the shooter got his hands on the firearms, but his father said that he does not regret helping him to get the permit even after his threatening behavior.
"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 says that his son purchased the weapons independently and he did not give him any money for that.
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 also addressed the 2019 incident in which his son threatened 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) and is facing charges of 7 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.'
