Highland Park Parade Mass Shooter Sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole

The man responsible for the shooting deaths of seven people at a July 4th parade near Chicago in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday.

Robert Crimo III, who previously pleaded guilty to the Independence Day mass shooting that also left dozens of people injured, was given seven consecutive life sentences for each of his first-degree murder victims, as well as 50 years for each of the 48 counts of attempted murder Crimo was also convicted of, the Associated Press reported.

“This court has absolutely no words that could adequately describe and capture the horror and pain that was inflicted on July 4th,” Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti said during sentencing, adding that the 24-year-old Crimo “has a complete disregard for human life” and “is irretrievably depraved, permanently incorrigible, irreparably corrupt and beyond any rehabilitation.”

A former teacher, the parents of a two-year-old, and a grandfather visiting his family from Mexico were among the seven people killed in the mass shooting during a 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Crimo was later indicted on 117 counts, ranging from the 21 first degree murder charges (three for each of the seven people killed during the 4th of July attack) to 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm for each victim who was struck by a bullet, bullet fragment, or shrapnel. 

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The trial was delayed in part because of Crimo backing out of his plea, firing his public defenders, and a brief attempt to serve as his own lawyer. Just moments before the trial finally began in March 2025, Crimo surprised the court by changing his plea to guilty. Crimo did not attend Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, where families of some of the victims testified in court.

In November 2023, Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., a one-time mayoral candidate, pleaded guilty to seven counts of misdemeanor reckless conduct for aiding his son in obtaining a license to own firearms prior to the shootings and was subsequently sentenced to 60 days in jail.