Enlarge image
FBI investigation at the crime scene in Highland Park
Photo: Ashlee Rezin/AP
After the fatal shooting at a US National Day parade in a suburb of Chicago, the alleged perpetrator has been charged with seven counts of murder.
"These are just the first of many charges," Lake County District Attorney Eric Rinehart said Tuesday evening (local time) in the small town of Highland Park.
He expects the 21-year-old suspect to be held accountable on dozens of other counts.
If convicted, however, the charges of first-degree murder alone would carry a sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole.
Rinehart announced that prosecutors will apply to the court this Wednesday for the suspect to be remanded in custody without the option of bail pending a verdict.
The prosecutor also said more needs to be done to keep people safe: He called for a nationwide ban on assault rifles, which have been used in numerous massacres in the United States, including the recent act in Highland Park.
US President Joe Biden recently failed to make the same request due to resistance in Congress.
A gunman opened fire in Highland Park on Monday, US Independence Day.
The alleged perpetrator was caught hours later.
As the police announced on Tuesday, he had fired a "powerful rifle" from the roof of a commercial building indiscriminately at the crowd celebrating and fired about 70 shots.
He bought the rifle legally over the past year.
The death toll rose to seven on Tuesday.
More than 30 other people were injured.
According to investigators, the suspected shooter had been planning the crime for weeks.
He is also said to have disguised himself as a woman on the day of the attack to disguise his identity and make it easier to escape.
Investigators say they have no clues as to a motive.
Police also said on Tuesday that they were called to the suspect's home twice in 2019.
The first time because of a suicide attempt by the man.
The second time, after the suspect threatened to "kill everyone" in the family, according to a relative.
At that time, the police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword.
According to the police, no firearms were found at the time.
aar/dpa/AFP
