By Dominic Taylor-
The man suspected of killing six people and wounding more than a dozen others during a July 4 parade in Highland Park is a Donald Trump-supporting rapper with a seemingly-successful music career.
Robert ‘Bobby’ Crimo III, 22, (pictured)who goes by the moniker Awake the Rapper, boasts more than 16,000 listeners per month on Spotify and has a net worth of $100,000.
Music videos posted by Crimo online last fall include a drawing of himself shooting people online, and a disturbing clip of himself throwing bullets on the floor of a classroom while wearing armor in what appears to be a joke about school shootings.
The gunman who opened fire on an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, has been named.
At least six people are said to have been killed and 24 injured after the gunman climbed up to a nearby roof and began shooting into the crowd at random.
The incident occurred at around 10:15 am local time (15:15 GMT) and the shooter has since been detained, following a chase with police.
And now, the gunman has been identified as 22-year-old Robert E Crimo III, a Chicago native who is also known by his rap name ‘Awake the Rapper’.
Crimo also had a Discord server where he would chat with friends and fans, and his most recent post was a picture of Budd Dwyer, he Pennsylvania state treasurer who killed himself on live TV in the 1980s, which he captioned: ‘I wish politicians still gave speeches like this.’
He also made references to suicide and frequently posted on a message board discussing graphic depictions of murder and death, including a recent video he shared of a beheading.
After the massacre, trolls invaded the server and praised Crimo and posted memes about the attack before it was taken offline.
Police have said he was ‘known to law enforcement’ but it is not yet known if this was due to the disturbing content he shared online which has now taken on a chilling relevance in the wake of the shooting.
So far, synagogue teacher Jacki Sundheim, a married mother, and grandfather Nicolas Toledo, 78, have been named as victims.
A total of 26 victims were also injured, 25 of whom suffered gunshot wounds. Six remain in hospital for treatment. The age ranges of the victims sits between eight and 85, with around four or five of those shot believed to be children.
The U.S has now seen 15 mass killings so far this year, and was the 11th mass shooting of just the holiday weekend.