The Facts
On Wed., 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III appeared in court on seven charges of first-degree murder in the wake of the 4th of July mass shooting at a parade in Highland Park, Ill. that also wounded dozens. He admitted to the attack and was ordered held without bond.
Crimo allegedly used a rifle similar to an AR-15 to fire more than 70 rounds from a rooftop into the crowd watching the parade. He reportedly purchased the rifle despite encounters in 2019 with law enforcement for a suicide threat, as well as threats to kill members of his household.
The Spin
Left narrative
Crimo swam in the dangerous waters of a toxic internet culture urging young men to kill and drawing them to hard-right US authoritarianism. The glorification of weapons, fixation on violence, and interest in rightist ideology fit a template we have seen for years, including in Buffalo and Uvalde. Internet fascism is spawning this era of mass shootings in America.
Right narrative
This was not an organized ideological attack. Crimo lived in an isolated world of violent video games and social media, amidst an epidemic of prescription drug abuse and even legalized marijuana. Democrats and the left-leaning media harp on guns, but they don't want to consider mental health issues exacerbated by rampant substance abuse.
