July 4 turns deadly
A mass shooter opened fire on a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. As of the afternoon of July 5, authorities said that seven people had died and dozens more were injured. The alleged gunman was apprehended by police and was brought in without incident.
Highland Park has a large population of Jewish people.
The suspected shooter, Robert Crimo III, 21, appears to have climbed up a ladder onto the roof of a local business and began shooting. Social media videos of the event suggest that he got off as many as 60 rounds before fleeing.
According to the Guardian, Crimo has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder as of July 5.
Criticisms of gun policy and anger at police began to float online immediately after the event. High-profile gun control activist Shannon Watts of Moms Demand Action noted that the police presence at the parade hadn’t stopped the shooter.
“It’s the fucking guns,” she wrote on Twitter.
People also noted that the police response to a young, white gunman after a mass-casualty event was radically different than traffic stops that led to the deaths of Black people at the hands of police.
Crimo left a trail of online posts and videos that hinted at his embrace of violence. One video, posted eight months ago, appeared to show an animation of a school shooting. Illinois has a “red flag” law that allows police to confiscate the firearms of people declared to be a danger.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering told NBC that Crimo acquired the gun legally.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 315 mass shootings between the beginning of the year and the morning of July 5, including a July 4 shooting that killed one and injured four at a private home in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
A July 4 shooting in Philadelphia during holiday activities injured two police officers, according to the local ABC affiliate. That suspect had not yet been caught.
Crowdsourcing investigations
The King County Auditor put out a call to the public to identify aspects of county government that require the office’s scrutiny.
The community input page allows people to suggest “agencies and activities to be audited, as well as make specific suggestions for improvement.”
The role of the Auditor’s Office is to keep an eye on government function and resources by examining agencies and activities. Recent reports include an analysis of traffic stops by Sheriff’s Office deputies, bus collision and injury prevention and privacy gaps associated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement access to county data.
Reports currently in progress include alternatives to incarceration, calls for service analysis and the equity initiative implementation, according to the Auditor’s website.
You can access the community input page at https://tinyurl.com/2p9bjwh4.
Ashley Archibald is the editor of Real Change News.
Read more of the July 6-12, 2022 issue.