Gunman sentenced to life in prison

The gunman who killed seven people at a 2022 Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Thursday.

Robert Crimo III, 23, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder charges in March.

After listening to witness testimony over two days, Judge Victoria Rossetti gave him seven back-to-back life sentences for each murder victim plus 50 years for attempted murder.

Crimo opened fire on crowds celebrating the Fourth of July in Highland Park, a city 30 miles (50 kilometres) north of Chicago.

The victims of the shooting ranged from an eight year old boy, paralysed from the waist down, to a young couple and an 88 year old man who were killed.

Video footage captured parade performers and attendees scrambling for safety.

Crimo then fled the scene, leaving his semiautomatic rifle behind.

After a manhunt, authorities apprehended him in the neighbouring state of Wisconsin the same day.

On Wednesday, survivors of the mass shooting told their stories in emotional testimony. Though Crimo did not appear in court, many witnesses addressed him directly, calling him “cowardly” and a “monster”.

Those killed in the shooting were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; and married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35.

More than 40 others were injured.

Crimo initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, but changed his plea in March.

His father, Robert Crimo Jr., was convicted in 2023 after pleading guilty to misdemeanour counts of reckless conduct for helping his son acquire a firearms ownership identification card. He served about one month in a county jail, winning early release from his 60-day sentence with good behaviour.