‘Mass shooter’ Robert E. Crimo changed during Covid lockdown and ‘wasn’t the same’, horrified close friend reveals

A CLOSE friend of the suspected July 4 parade mass shooter has revealed how he changed dramatically during Covid lockdown.

She said she was "shocked" to see Robert Crimo III was allegedly responsible for killing seven people and injuring dozens more in Highland Park.

"That wasn't the Bobby I knew," the friend, who wished to remain anonymous, told The US Sun.

Crimo, 22, has been charged with seven counts of murder - and more charges are expected to be filed - in connection with the July 4th parade shooting in the affluent Chicago suburb.

After his first court appearance on Wednesday, prosecutors said he immediately made a voluntary statement confessing to the attack.

He also allegedly told cops he used make-up to cover his tattoos so he could evade detection and contemplated conducting a second shooting at a July 4 celebration in Wisconsin.

His friend, who lives in the same neighborhood as Crimo's dad and uncle, worked with him in a Panera Bread until the pandemic forced the place to close.

That's when they began to drift apart, but they still waved and said "hi" and "bye" if they saw each other.

"He was soft-spoken and polite. If we worked late, he always waited for my parents to get me and made sure I got home," the friend said.

After news of the shooting broke Monday, she said her friends checked on her safety and she was going to "message Bobby to see if he was OK."

"When I saw the police were looking for him, I couldn't believe it," she said. "I didn't want to believe it was him. I was hoping it was someone else.

"The Bobby I knew was never violent. We shared common interests and we worked together and he was never rude to customers."

The two friends talked about things like life goals, anime, the pandemic and Kobe Bryant, whose tragic death was plastered all over the news in March 2020.

"I'm still processing it," Crimo III's friend said. "I've been crying since I saw his face on the news. I haven't eaten or slept since it all happened.

"My friends told me about the (YouTube) videos and social media. I didn't know anything about it. I didn't follow him on social media. 

"It's a completely different person than the Bobby I knew."

PAUL CRIMO SPEAKS OUT

Crimo's uncle, Paul Crimo, recalled how his nephew "wore women's clothes at least once in the past" after cops said he fled the parade carnage wearing a wig.

“I’m shocked ... It’s too much to process," Paul said from his car, after a seventh person died as a result of the July 4 shooting.

"There were no warning signs. Nothing that I saw.”

Paul said he didn't know why Robert dressed as a woman and still doesn't understand why he would open fire on a crowd of innocent bystanders.

When asked if he had a message for anyone who was reading, he apologized to the families who were impacted.

“I feel bad for all the families. My thoughts and prayers are with all the families," he said.

"I’m heartbroken for all of them. I’ll forever be heartbroken.”

Paul added that he knew Robert had YouTube and social media accounts but didn't know the content of what was on them.

CHARGES AGAINST CRIMO

Crimo is accused of firing more than 70 shots at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in Illinois before evading arrest for eight hours after he took his mom's car.

It was announced by Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart that 22-year-old Crimo is now charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and will be facing "dozens" more.

"These are just the first of many charges filed against Mr. Crimo," Rinehart said Tuesday evening.