Should Illinois red flag laws have prevented the Highland Park parade shooting?

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Near a year after the deadly mass shooting at Highland Park's Independence Day parade, the question that still haunts law enforcement is: should red flag laws have intercepted the attacker because of past behavior?

In the ensuing year, authorities have determined there were several instances where accused shooter Robert Crimo III might have been snared by Illinois red flag laws. If he had, it could have prevented him from passing four background checks and legally buying five guns, including the AR-15-style rifle he is charged with using in the shooting.

"I think it's very difficult to say [if it could have been prevented], but I think one of the factors that is most troubling about the situation is that although a clear and present danger was reported, you subsequently had a family member say in writing and sign a document that says this person is not a threat," said Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly. "'This person is safe to be able to have a firearm,' and that's something very difficult for law enforcement to be able to overcome."

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In a winde-ranging interview, Kelly said he is most troubled by how Crimo managed to obtain guns legally after his father, Robert Crimo Jr., vouched for him, saying he wasn't a danger despite several encounters between his son and law enforcement in 2019, including threats to kill people.

"The family did not take that step," Kelly said. "They did not use the firearms restraining order and when local law enforcement interacted with them, they gave contradictory information such that they held out that this individual was not a threat. So I think it's very hard to say under all the circumstances if could there have been some different outcome, particularly when you have a family member that is doing something that makes it more difficult for law enforcement to do their job."

Crimo Jr. has pleaded not guilty to seven felony counts of reckless conduct after prosecutors said he sponsored his then-19-year-old son's state firearms application.

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Crimo Jr. declined to speak to the I-Team, and his son, who remains locked up in Lake County Jail, did not respond to an I-Team letter.

Illinois has two red flag laws. The firearms restraining order allows concerned family members to report individuals who pose a risk, prompting temporary removal of their guns. The clear and present danger statute allows police, school officials and mental health professionals to report and achieve gun removal.

"In almost every case, the police come to us with information and they're either asking for the firearm restraining order or we will suggest it to them," said DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin. "They have already spoken to family members the petitioner, they'll bring the information to us and then we'll move forward."

Red flag gun removals have moved at a record pace in DuPage County in the last four years.

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"We have saved lives. We've done over 95 petitions that have been granted. A number of these petitioners are let me say that again. A number of the respondents were suicidal and we're very likely to have hurt themselves or others. Others were involved in violent domestic disputes. There's no question in my mind that we have saved lives," Berlin said.

In Lake County, discussions continue about whether the Highland Park mass shooting could have been prevented if Crimo III had been flagged.

"We should be focusing some more public education regarding the access of the firearm restraining order," said Paul Frank, Lake County Board member. "I think the more that folks recognize that that's a tool, that we all have a responsibility to say something and to act if we see something if we see a person at risk of harming themselves or others."

"I think there's been a cultural shift within much of law enforcement that says hey, let's err on the side of caution here. We don't want another tragedy we don't want another evolving we don't want another buffalo we don't want another Highland Park. So let's take action. Let's use these tools and I think there are many, many cases which don't get reported because the incident doesn't happen," said Kelly.

Kelly said the state's red flag laws are becoming stronger tools, with law enforcement now able to look for threatening conduct further into a person's past. And now when they remove guns, new rules allow police to hold someone's guns for a year, not just six months.

Kelly also said there is a "tricky balance" for Illinois' medical community, between reporting dangerous patients and protecting this privacy.