Wednesday 6 July 2022 08:30 PM Highland Park gunman posted eerie gaming videos that showed him shooting at ... trends now
Robert Crimo III, 21, has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder after shooting at a crowd who gathered for a Fourth of July parade on Monday
The Highland Park gunman who killed seven people at a July 4 parade previously posted gaming videos online where he shot at people from rooftops.
The eerie videos show 21-year-old Robert Crimo's gaming avatar standing on rooftops and shooting down his opponents in a game of Call of Duty.
This came before Crimo himself stood on a rooftop disguised in women's clothing and opened fire 'sniper-style' at the crowd during the Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
Crimo killed seven people with his Smith & Wesson rifle and has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder with dozens more charges expected.
In the video game posts, gun shots can be heard ringing out while players are heard laughing, yelling and directing one another. It's unclear which voice is Crimo's.
Violent video games like Call of Duty have often been cited as the motivation for real-life shootings by the NRA and gun lobbyists.
But several studies have found there is no evidence that these games are fueling mass shootings and instead point to America's lax gun laws.
DailyMail.com has uncovered gaming videos Crimo posted where his avatar stood on rooftops and shot down his opponents
On Monday, Crimo stood on a rooftop armed with a Smith & Wesson rifle and killed seven people, firing 83 rounds in total
In the gaming videos, gun shots can be heard ringing out while players are heard laughing, yelling and directing one another
Violent video games like Call of Duty have often been cited as the motivation for real-life shootings by the NRA and gun lobbyists
NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre previously blamed the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on the shooter's obsession with violent games. NRA president Oliver North also blamed the games for the 2018 mass shooting in Sante Fe, Texas that killed 10.
Former President Donald Trump repeatedly stated his theory that gaming violence leads to real-life violence after the El Paso shooting in 2019 which killed 23 people.
In response, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, the gaming company behind Grand Theft Auto, said blaming video games for mass shootings is disrespectful to victims' families, calling gun violence 'uniquely American' but said 'entertainment is consumed world-wide.'
A London-based study published last year looked at how adolescent boys' behavior is affected by the release of new violent video games in the US.
The study author Dr. Agne Suziedelyte concluded that policies intended to place restrictions on video game sales to minors – as attempted by several states – are unlikely to reduce violence.
Dr. Suziedelyte pointed out that sales of video games in the US have been increasing since the 1990s, whereas violent crime rates have been decreasing during the same period.
Another video posted by the shooter show him panning down Central Avenue - the location of the parade where he carried out the shooting.
The video is titled, 'Where is everyone?'
On Wednesday, Crimo appeared in court to be charged with multiple counts of murder, as prosecutors shared more details of his deadly rampage.
Crimo spoke softly to tell the court that he did not have a lawyer, and to ask for a public defender. He was dressed in all-black, wore his long dark hair draped over one eye and shifted on his feet as he appeared via Zoom from a room in the Lake County Jail.
He was denied bond by Judge Theodore S. Potkonjak, and will remain in custody until his next court date on July 25.
Crimo fired 83 rounds in total, reloading his weapon twice before fleein gthe roof of the building along the parade route.
Police tracked him down by tracing the serial number of the gun to his home. He dropped the weapon while running away from the parade.
Once in custody, he made a full confession and told cops he 'looked down, aimed and fired' into the crowd.
Family members and classmates have described Crimo as a quiet loner who kept to himself.
Paul Crimo, the suspect's uncle, told how Crimo was behaving normally on Sunday night. He claims he showed 'no signs of violence' - despite YouTube rap videos in which he glamorized school shootings. The shooter's motive for the attack remains unknown.
'I'm heartbroken. I’m so heartbroken. There were no signs that I
