Accused Chicago July 4 parade shooter Robert Crimo goes to trial on murder charges nearly 3 years after massacre

WAUKEGAN, Ill.— The man accused of opening fire on a suburban Chicago Independence Day parade, killing seven people, is about to stand trial, nearly three years after the attack.Jury selection started Monday after several delays.

Part of the reason is the erratic behavior of the defendant, Robert Crimo III, which has raised questions about what to expect at trial for the 2022 mass shooting.Opening statements are expected next week.Authorities allege a gunman perched on a roof shot at crowds assembled for a Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a wealthy suburb 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Chicago.Seven people were killed in the 2022 shooting, including both parents of a toddler.Dozens more were wounded.

They ranged in age from their 80s down to a then- 8-year-old boy who was left partially paralyzed.Witnesses described confusion as shots rang out, followed by terror as families abandoned the parade route, leaving behind lawn chairs and strollers to find safety inside homes and businesses.City leaders canceled the parade the following year but reinstated it in 2024 with a memorial for the victims.Mayor Nancy Rotering has said the city doesn’t want to be defined by the mass shooting.This month, she announced the parade will return in July, but without fireworks, partly because of “community trauma.”“This year’s parade theme reminds us that teams bring people together in support of a common goal, and that we are most resilient when we support each other,” Rotering said.Killed in the shooting were: Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; and married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35.Crimo was initially charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder — three counts for each person killed — as well as 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery.

But on Monday, Lake County prosecutors sought to drop the less serious aggrava...