Highland Park gunman’s family was in turmoil for years leading up to parade

CNN
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When Bob’s Pantry and Deli opened for business in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park in 2008, loyal customers lined up in the snow at 4 a.m. to support Bob Crimo, who was striking out on his own after years running a convenience store franchise. Photos from opening day showed customers hoisting massive sandwiches and Crimo posing with his beaming family – including his eight-year-old son Robert Crimo III, who went by Bobby.

The deli quickly became a popular local fixture: a hangout spot for teenagers, a friendly gathering place for the neighborhood, and a pit stop for an affordable, delicious lunch.

But behind the scenes, the Crimo family was in turmoil. Police reports show that officers were regularly called to their home over domestic disputes between Crimo and his wife, and in 2019, police briefly confiscated a collection of knives after then 18-year-old Bobby threatened to “kill everyone.”

More recently, after the once-bustling deli closed, the family appeared to fall into dire financial straits, with foreclosure cases proceeding against both of the homes they owned and Bob Crimo telling a judge several weeks ago he was on food stamps.

Then, as Highland Park prepared to celebrate the Fourth of July this week with the annual parade through the city’s picturesque downtown, Bobby allegedly climbed onto a cosmetics store rooftop with a semi-automatic rifle and opened fire on the festivities, killing seven people and injuring dozens of others.

In the wake of the tragedy, the close-knit community of Highland Park is reeling and trying to understand a massacre with no apparent motive. Locals said that it was even more shocking that the shooter was Bobby Crimo – the son of a well-known local figure beloved by his regular customers, who even ran for mayor several years ago.

The elder Crimo is facing scrutiny in part because he sponsored a permit allowing his son to purchase firearms before he turned 21, including the gun he used in the shooting. Locals who once lined up for “Nicky D” sandwiches at Bob’s say they can’t comprehend how the family could have missed warning signs, including violent imagery in the music videos Bobby posted online, or why Crimo would have signed the gun permit application.

“To be that irresponsible and signing off is mind-blowing to me,” said Barbara Medina, a longtime Highland Park resident who often shopped at the deli and was marching in the parade when the shooting took place. “It’s a shock that it’s anybody in your town, that they could come in and do that to their own community.”

Crimo did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment, but in an interview with the New York Post, he said he had no idea Bobby was preparing to commit the shooting and that he wasn’t responsible for his son’s actions.

“I’ve been here my whole life, and I’m gonna stay here, hold my head up high, because I didn’t…