Will parents of alleged shooter face charges?

(NewsNation) — The parents of the alleged Highland Park parade shooter retained a lawyer and released a statement Thursday, sending their thoughts and prayers to those impacted by the tragedy.

Robert Crimo III, 21, faces seven counts of first-degree murder. Multiple other charges are expected to be handed down in connection with the shooting.

The attorneys representing the Crimo family are from the same law office defending singer R. Kelly. Could Crimo III’s parents face any legal responsibility in the Highland Park shooting?

A criminal defense attorney tells NewsNation the father may face charges in the case. The accused gunman was known to authorities after two separate incidents in 2019. First, after authorities responded in April 2019 to a suicide attempt. Then five months later, a family member called police saying Robert Crimo III threatened to “kill everyone” in the home.

State police said officers found knives during the call but they turned them over to the father. Despite these warning signs, just months later, state police say Crimo III’s father sponsored his son’s gun license the following December.

How the Highland Park shooter avoided Illinois’ red flag law

The attorney for the parents said exclusively on NewsNation they were completely blindsided by the Highland Park attack. “They have disputed that he was ever suicidal, that they ever claimed he was suicidal, and they also dispute that he ever threatened to kill everyone. The information that I gleaned from law enforcement authorities and from speaking with the parents is they didn’t do anything wrong. They are just as shocked by this turn of events as everyone else is,” attorney Steve Greenberg said.

Contrary to those statements, criminal defense attorney Jennifer Lieser said the father may potentially face criminal charges for aiding and abetting in the commission of a crime. “There’s an intent aspect to aiding and abetting,” Lieser explained. “I have to, if I supply a weapon to my friend, because she tells me she’s going to rob a bank, I have the intent to help her commit the crime. But if I give her a gun and then five years later she robbed the bank it’s attenuated. It’s kind of hard to say that there was an intent that I helped her commit the crime. So that’s really what’s at play here.”

Read Full Article