HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — A crime scene reverted to cherished town square on Sunday as police tape and barricades came down at the site of America’s most recent mass killing.
Central Avenue, between Green Bay Road and Second Streets, and neighboring blocks had been closed since Monday when a 21-year-old man allegedly opened fire at a Fourth of July parade, slaying seven and injuring dozens more.
But by Sunday morning, the former crime scene looked like any other day in this affluent Chicagoland suburb, showing no signs of the carnage that unfolded days earlier.
Few businesses were open, but neighbors were out and about on the pleasant Sunday morning.
Bonnie Fear, who runs a church-based therapy dog operation, and her three golden retrievers were among the most popular figures on the streets of downtown Highland Park on Sunday.
“We see all of the emotion. They are thankful, they are crying, they’re happy, there’s silence. We see it all,” Fear said. “And when they see these dogs, that’s been an overwhelming expression of thanks, gratitude.”
The dogs have been terribly busy recently, giving comfort at at memorials in Highland Park after a stint in Uvalde, Texas.
“We see it, we feel it, and we know it’s where we’re supposed to be,” Fear said. “Our faith gives us the strength to be here for these people. We see it, we feel it, and we know it’s where we’re supposed to be.”
Police cordoned off much of downtown, processing the crime scene where more than 70 rounds were fired from a rooftop perch, officials said.
Crimo allegedly scaled a ladder, attached to a downtown building which allowed him to make his sniper’s nest where he opened fire about 10:14 am CDT on Monday, police said.
The neighborhood was finally released from investigators’ control at about 6:30 am on Sunday, according to Paris Lewbela spokesman for the nearby Aurora Police Department who has also been acting as a representative for Highland Park police.
Mayor Nancy Rotering lamented how there are so many mass shootings in America, there’s actually a how-to guide for communities to deal with the tragic aftermath.
“No major that’s ever prepared for this [shooting] but there is a handbook for mayors for post mass shooting situations,” told Sky News. “A 198-page handbook that’s now being sent to us in an effort to help us, because so many have gone before us through this ridiculous tragedy.”
Robert E. Crimo was arrested in North Chicago hours after the mass shooting, but not before driving to Madison, Wisconsin and contemplating an attack there, police have said.
The shooting has brought attention to Crimo’s father, former Highland Park mayoral candidate Bob Crimo Jr.
The suspect was under 21 in 2020 when he purchased the AR-15-style weapon allegedly used in Monday’s attack — a purchase he could only make because his father sponsored his Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) application.
Bob Crimo Jr., “may have responsibility in certain circumstances” for his son’s deadly actions, state police said last week.
“He (Bob Crimo Jr.) didn’t believe at any point that he (the suspect) was a danger to anyone,” family attorney George Gomez told NBC News on Saturday.
Katherine Koretski and Kathy Park reported from Highland Park, Illinois, and David K. Li from New York.
www.nbcnews.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism