Highland Park shooting suspect Robert E. Crimo was considering a second mass shooting, officials said during a court hearing, indicating that after the first attack he drove his mother’s car to Madison, Wisconsin for that purpose.
In his voluntary confession, Crimo said that after firing down from a building at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, he drove to Madison where he considering a second attack with a semi-automatic rifle he had with him.
"It appears when he drove to Madison. He was driving around. However, he did see a celebration in Madison, and he seriously contemplated using the firearm in his vehicle to commit another shooting," Chris Covelli of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said.
“I can't speak to why he decided to come back from Madison. There are indications that he didn't put enough planning forward to commit another attack.”
On Tuesday, FBI agents raided a Middleton, Wisconsin auto shop to recover a cellphone Crimo had left on the property.
The business’s owner Jim Lund told WISN 12 News that he was warned by agents to be careful where he walked.
“[The agents told me,] ‘We don't know what he may have left here. He could have left a gun, a phone, anything,’” said Lund.
As of Wednesday evening, officials have no evidence that Crimo met anyone in Wisconsin but his actions during the hours he spent in the state are still being investigated.
“We are deeply troubled to learn the suspected Illinois parade shooter considered carrying out another attack here in Madison. We feel for the grieving families in Highland Park and all those forever impacted by the events of Monday’s shooting. We recognize tragedy very well could have taken place in our own community. That reality is upsetting to all of us here in Madison, including the members of the Madison Police Department,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said in a statement.