Biden's 'not sure' whether he will visit Highland Park as he orders flags to be flown at half-staff

Joe Biden said Tuesday that he doesn’t know yet if he will travel to Highland Park, Illinois following the Independence Day parade shooting there.

The president ordered that the victims of the shooting be honored by all federal buildings and grounds lowering their flags to half-staff.

A gunman opened fire in the affluent Highland Park neighborhood on Monday, July 4, killing six people and injuring 25 others.

During a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House on Tuesday, a reporter asked Biden if he would visit Highland Park following the shooting.

‘I’m not sure,’ the president mumbled while exiting the East Room.

Just after the event, however, he issued the proclamation for honoring the victims by ordering flags halfway down the pole until the end of the week on Saturday, July 9, 2022 ‘as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of gun violence perpetrated on our Independence Day, July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois.’ 

President Joe Biden ordered Tuesday that flags to be lowered to half-staff until Saturday, July 9, 2022 to honor the victims of the Highland Park, Illinois Independence Day parade shooting 

A 21-year-old gunman opened fire at a July 4 parade in Highland Park on Monday, killing six and injuring 25 others

Robert ‘Bobby’ Crimo III, 21, is the main suspect of the massacre. The rapper supports former President Donald Trump. He goes by ‘Awake the Rapper’ and has more than 16,000 listeners per month on Spotify.

The suspect was ‘known to law enforcement’ but it is not yet known if this was due to the disturbing content he shared online, or if he committed other crimes. He has not yet been charged for the massacre but he remains in custody and is speaking with authorities.

Crimp legally purchased the two rifles used in the shooting along with other guns in the local area – despite a ban on assault rifles in Highland Park, buying them at multiple locations.

On Monday, after the attack, he fled among frightened paradegoers, pretending to be one of the victims, and went to his mother’s house. Crimo was able to evade law enforcement for hours after the shooting, disguising himself as a woman in the crowd running from the direction of the gun fire.

Shooting suspect Robert ‘Bobby’ E Crimo III, 21, was able to evade authorities for hours by disguising himself as a female paradegoer. He has an obsession with the number 47 – it’s even tattooed on his cheek – although the significance of the number remains unconfirmed

The gunman’s car outside his home in Highland Park, Illinois, on Tuesday. He was obsessed with the number 47 – which is the date of July 4th in reverse 

It’s unclear if Crimo told his mother what he had done or if she is being treated as a suspect, but he took her car.

Questions are emerging over the young gunman’s motive, lifestyle and his obsession with the number 47.

Crimo had a 47 tattoo on his cheek and the numbers are emblazoned on the side of a car at his home. The vehicle was left abandoned in the front yard on Tuesday after the home was raided by FBI agents. Crimo also posted the number all over his social media accounts, where he also shared ominous rap videos that glamorized school shootings.

It’s unclear what the significance is – although 47 is the date of July 4th, 7/4, in reverse. The next President will also be the 47th and Crimo is a Trump supporter and previously attended his rallies.

Crimo’s parents have not yet addressed the attack.

His father Bob Sr. ran unsuccessfully for mayor against current Mayor Nancy Rotering.

Among those killed at the July 4 parade on Monday were synagogue teacher Jacki Sundheim, a married mother, and grandfather Nicolas Toledo, 78. The four other deceased have not yet been identified.

Another 25 people aged between eight and 85 suffered gunshot wounds – six remain in the hospital.

Synagogue teacher is identified as second victim of Chicago July 4 massacre as family of grandpa, 76, tell how they were splattered with his blood as he was executed 

 A synagogue teacher has been identified as the second victim of the July 4 Highland Park gun massacre that killed six people. 

Jacki Sundheim, a longtime staffer at North Shore Congregation Israel, was shot and killed when a gunman opened fire at the event, unleashing a hail of bullets on the crowd, the synagogue announced in an email to congregants Monday night.  

 ‘Jacki was a lifelong congregant of NSCI and a cherished member of NSCI’s staff team for decades,’ the synagogue wrote in an email that announced her murder ‘Jacki’s work, kindness and warmth touched us all.’

Sundheim, was the Reform synagogue’s events and b’nei mitzvah coordinator, according to its website. She is survived by her husband Bruce and daughter Leah, the Times of Israel reported. 

‘There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jacki’s death,’ the synagogue added. 

Jacki Sundheim, a longtime staffer at North Shore Congregation Israel, was shot and killed when a gunman opened fire at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois on Monday

Earlier on Monday evening, a beloved grandfather from Mexico had been identified as one of the victims, by his family who said he was shot in the head as he sat in his wheelchair, his blood splattering on them. 

Nicolas Toledo, 76, had not wanted to attend the parade in Highland Park, Illinois, his granddaughter told the New York Times.

But because of his disabilities that restricted him to a wheelchair, and his family’s insistence of going, he obliged. 

Nicolas Toledo, 76, had not wanted to attend the July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on Monday, his granddaughter told the New York Times. But because of his disabilities that restricted him to a wheelchair, and his family’s insistence of going, he obliged