Illinois Man Rejects Deal to Plead Guilty to 7 Murder Charges in Shooting at 2022 July 4th Parade

Illinois Man Rejects Deal to Plead Guilty to 7 Murder Charges in Shooting at 2022 July 4th Parade
Robert E. Crimo III, appears for a case management meeting before Judge Victoria A. Rossetti at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, Ill., on May 29, 2024. Nam Y. Huh/Pool/AP Photo
The Associated Press
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WAUKEGAN, Ill.—The man accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens more at a 2022 Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb rejected a deal requiring him to plead guilty to seven charges of murder Wednesday in a stunning courtroom scene just days before the second anniversary of the attack.

Appearing in a Lake County courtroom, Robert E. Crimo III, 23, refused to accept the agreement that prosecutors said would mean a life sentence for him in the Highland Park shooting.