Death toll from July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park rises to seven as victims named
Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The New York Times on Tuesday afternoon that a seventh victim had died
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The death toll from the mass shooting at a July 4 parade in Highland Park has now risen to seven, with one of the wounded victims succumbing to their injuries one day on from the attack.
Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The New York Times on Tuesday afternoon that a seventh victim had died.
The victim’s age and identity have not been revealed.
Meanwhile, the six previous victims were named as follows: Katherine Goldstein, 88; Irina McCarthy, 35; Kevin McCarthy, 37; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78.
The first six adults died on Monday when the gunman opened fire from the rooftop of a business overlooking the Independence Day parade route in the Illinois city located 25 miles from Chicago.
Five of the victims died on the scene of the massacre while the sixth succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
The family of 76-year-old grandfather Nicholas Toledo confirmed his death on Monday afternoon.
The elderly man, of dual US and Mexico nationality, used a wheelchair and was sitting in it watching the parade when he was struck by bullets.
Mr Toledo’s granddaughter told the New York Times they “were all in shock” and revealed that her grandfather hadn’t wanted to go to the parade but only agreed to go so that he could join in the festivities with his family.
A second victim was also identified on Monday night as a devoted member of a local synagogue and married mother-of-one.
Jacki Sundheim was remembered by the North Shore Congregation Israel as a “lifelong” congregant and “cherished” staffer whose “work, kindness and warmth touched us all”.
The family of 88-year-old Steve Straus confirmed he was among the victims on Tuesday, with his niece paying tribute to the financial advisor who still took the train to work in Chicago every day.
“He was an honorable man who worked his whole life. He should not have had to die this way,” she said.
As well as the deceased, more than 30 other victims were taken to local hospitals for treatment.
Charges are yet to be filed against the alleged shooter Robert Crimo with investigators saying they hope to announce charges later on Tuesday.
In a press conference on Tuesday morning, Lake County Sgt Christopher Covelli said that Mr Crimo, 21, “pre-planned his attack for several weeks” and wore women’s clothing as a disguise so that he could escape the scene in the aftermath of the attack.
Surveillance footage captured him in a dress and a long wig.
Investigators said Mr Crimo wanted to blend into the crowd of panicked parade-goers fleeing from the scene of the massacre.
His plan worked and he walked home to his mother’s house, where he borrowed her car.
The suspect was later tracked down in the vehicle and arrested on a highway on Monday night.
The motive for the attack is still unknown.
Sgt Covelli said that Mr Crimo legally purchased multiple firearms – including the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack, a second rifle found in his vehicle during his arrest and pistols found at his home – prior to the mass shooting.
Officials are now facing questions about whether warning signs may have been missed, as it has since emerged that Mr Crimo posted several disturbing videos glorifying violence and mass shootings online prior to the attack.
President Joe Biden condemned the shooting and said that it showed there was “much more work to do” to tackle America’s gun violence – with the attack coming just weeks after 21 students and teachers were murdered in a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and 10 Black people were shot dead in a racist attack in Buffalo, New York.