A man has pleaded guilty to killing seven people when he opened fire on an Independence Day parade in Chicago in 2022.
Robert E Crimo III, 24, had pleaded not guilty to the shooting – but changed his plea just moments before opening statements at his trial.
Prosecutors originally charged Crimo with 21 counts of first-degree murder, three for each person killed, and 48 counts of attempted murder.
They dropped 48 less serious counts of aggravated battery before jury selection last week.
Judge Victoria Rossetti read the charges to Crimo and asked questions to ensure he understood before his new plea was read to the court today in Lake County, Illinois.
He mostly gave one-word answers and indicated he understood the charges.
The plea change means the trial – which had been expected to last a month – will not go ahead, the judge told the court.
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“He has knowingly and voluntarily waived those rights and pleaded guilty,” Rossetti said.
The proceedings were briefly interrupted as the defendant’s mother had a brief outburst at her son’s plea change. She was called to the bench and given a warning but allowed to stay in the courtroom.
Crimo will be sentenced on 23 April and is certain to spend the rest of his life behind bars as each first-degree murder count carries a natural life prison sentence.
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The change of plea shocked those in the courtroom and Ashbey Beasley, who attended the 2022 parade with her son, said it was a huge relief.
Ms Beasley and her son had to run for their lives, she said, and while they were not injured, they have needed to heal.
“Every single time I see [Crimo], it’s stressful,” she told reporters. “It’s upsetting for everyone in our community,” she told reporters after court. “We all just wanted this to be over.”
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In a Chicago suburb around 30 miles north of the city, Crimo perched on a roof and fired into crowds gathered for a Fourth of July parade in 2022, authorities said.
Witnesses described confusion as the shots began, before panic as families fled the parade route to find safety, leaving prams, pushchairs and belongings behind.
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The seven people killed in the shooting included an 88-year-old man and a married couple.
The dozens injured ranged in age from an eight-year-old boy, who was left partially paralysed, to someone in their eighties.
