22-year-old Robert E Crimo III, aka Awake The Rapper has been identified as the suspect in the deadly July 4th shootings in the US.
22-year-old Robert E. “Bobby” Crimo III, who goes by the name Awake The Rapper, has been identified as the prime suspect in the deadly July 4th shooting in Illinois, Chicago. The incident comes amidst fervent national conversations around gun violence in the US in the wake of multiple shootings that claimed the lives of numerous people, including children.
Crimo was taken into custody in the Lake Forest area after a short police chase.
Authorities also said that they had ‘processed a significant amount of digital evidence’ which made them believe that Crimo was ‘responsible for what happened’. However, he has yet to be charged.
According to reports, Crimo opened fire on the July 4th parade attendees shortly after the event began. Using the rooftop of a nearby shop as a vantage point, he is suspected to have targeted people at random, killing six people and leaving at least 26 people – aged eight to 85 – in the hospital.
According to reports, Crimo has been releasing music for some years now. In addition to an IMDb page which gives him creative credits for some music videos, he also has some 30 songs on Spotify. Two of his tracks also amassed upwards of one million listens on the streaming service.
While relatives and friends claimed they did not know of his violent tendencies, Crimo’s musical repertoire showed otherwise. In one of his music videos, he glamorised a mass shooting and being shot by police. Another music video implies a school shooting, with the rapper as the shooter.
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Crimo’s actions have been condemned by people and politicians alike.
“Jill and I are shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community this Independence Day. As always, we are grateful for the first responders and law enforcement on the scene. I will not give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence.” said US president Joe Biden in a statement.
Jill and I are shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community this Independence Day. As always, we are grateful for the first responders and law enforcement on the scene.
I will not give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 4, 2022
