stand by. also tonight, a powerful new allegation in the uvalde, texas shooting massacre. the city's mayor telling cnn he believes local law enforcement is involved in what's being described as a cover up. and high profile trump al allies rudy giuliani and lindsey graham are slapped with subpoenas. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we're standing by for a possible announcement against the highland park mass shooting suspect. police indicated it could happen this hour as they reveal new information explosive information about the accused

gunman. cnn's senior investigative correspondent, drew griffin, has details. >> the sheriff's office reveals two incident involving the suspect. the first in april of 2019. a suicide attempt handled by mental health professionals. >> the secondo cured in september of 2019. a family member reported he was going to kill efveryone and he had a collection of knives. the police responded to his residence. they removed 16 knives, a dagger and sword from his home. at that time, there was no probably cause to arrest. there were no complaints that were signed by any of the victims. >> police say the suspected shooter preplanned his attack and get away for several weeks leaving his high powered rifle behind, dressing as a woman, and slipping away with the retreating crowds. it was that rifle purchased legally and traced back to him

that helped police identify the suspect, track down his mother's car and make this arrest. >> at this point, we have not developed a motive from him. >> while police search for a reason, there were warning signs posted all across social media. music videos with dark images depicting violence, a school shooting, and a cartoon of a stick figure apparently meant to be the suspect. face down in a pool of blood in a shootout with police. the actual suspect was arrested without shots fired after the shooting. former classmates tell cnn in high school he was withdrawn. >> he was very quiet. he didn't talk that much. and when he did talk, he seemed very gentle. he didn't seem like aggressive or anything at all. it was very shocking. especially that somebody i know. very heartbreaking. i never thought that it could happen in my town or especially

somebody that i even know at all. >> despite the social media posts, an uncle who lived with the suspect told cnn and chicago tv station wfld his nephew was not violent. >> no warning signs as i saw. i saw him yesterday evening, went home, said hi to him and when i came back downstairs, i said bye. he said bye. i see nothing that would trigger him doing this. >> and the weapon? do you have any idea where he acquired the weapon? >> i'm not sure. no. >> so even though the uncle told us that, now we know there were major red flags in this case. a suicide attempt. threats on his family. the collection of his knives taken away including a dagger and a sword and these disturbing social media posts. yet despite all of this, legally cleared to buy guns including the gun police say he used to

gun down seven people and injure 30 more at this july fourth parade. >> horrible situation. thank you very much. let's discuss what's going on. joining us now, our law enforcement analyst, the former fbi deputy director, andrew mccabe and jonathan. also joining us, a witness to the actual shooting. the "chicago sun-times" bureau chief, lynn sweet. she was at the parade when the shots rang out. let's start with you, andrew. the suspect had not one, but two prior contacts with police including one that stemmed from a threat he made to quote, kill everyone. >> these are excruciating interesting questions. first, whether they were hand

correctly and if there was fallout. the resounding answer is no. the first interaction was involved they responded to his house after he had threatened to commit suicide. under the brady act, you can only be turned down from buying a firearm if you have been adjudicated or involuntarily committed to a mental institution. that didn't happen so it wouldn't have prevented him from buying a gun. and later, responding to the house, seizing the knives, again, there's no legal obligation or effect that would prohibit him buying a firearm. it does raise good questions about why the family didn't maybe take further aggressive against him, try to get him some mental help to address those issues, but legally, there's not

much to go on. >> jonathan, what does it say to you that the suspect had a disguise of women's clothing available as well as an escape plan to avoid being immediately captured? >> this was a premeditated and very calculated attack. when you look at these attack elements, you look at the cover used. this disguise to blend into the crowd easily and not to be you know, have any attribution made to who he is. he had very noticeable features with the tattoos. this disguise covered that up. but also thinking about the attack position. going to an elevated position on the roof to attack. essentially a crowd that was really contained. they were channelled within that parade route. so really trying to garner that tactical advantage. then you think about the escape plan. this was not an attack where he you know was going to make a last stand and die. this attack was planned for him

to escape. utilizing that women's clothing. thinking about the elements of escaping within the crowd as they fled is a more calculated attack plan than we've actually seen recently. so all of this leads us that premedation of this attacker. >> good point. lynn, you were there in highland park at the parade when the shooting unfolded. based on what you saw, does it seem plausible to you that a gunman disguised in women's clothing could have blended in with the crowd and escaped during the chaos? >> immediately after the shooting, wolf, people fled. i observed a sea of people coming. i was on the eastern side of the central avenue scene of the parade behind us. i want to bring up one quick thing. for all the planning that the suspect has or the person of interest, the police said that

he left his weapon there. and it was that weapon that cracked the case. and if you leave a weapon with a serial number on it, you more or less would be able to leave a driver's license. but to your immediate question, yes, people were just running east and west to get out of the parade route. no one was paying attention to anyone who was around them. people were fleeing. >> we're standing by this hour. we're told there's going to be a news conference. local authorities are going to make, we were told presumably an announcement involving possible charges against this person of interest or suspect, whatever you want to call him. what do you make of that? >> i make it that the lake county state's attorney is being careful and methodical. their fbi agents have been combing the scene behind me since early morning. there's a few clues we think that we know what they're looking for and they went

through all the debris in backpacks and everything that's out here. behind me, it's still a few hundred feet. sad to say i did observe most of the bodies and injured. so if you wait a day, maybe two, before you bring charges, the suspect is apprehended, he's not going anywhere. so what i take it in their caution is to just take their time and get it right or make a decision, maybe put one charge out now and save others for later depending on their legal analysis. >> andrew, we don't know much about the suspect's motive. at least at this point. how are authorities going to figure out why he allegedly carried out this mass murder? >> well, you know the first thing they'll do, wolf, is they'll try to talk to him. also delaying the charges against him gives the police officers and investigators more time to engage with him personally if he hasn't invoked

his right to counsel. it gives them a chance to build rapport with him to get him to poss possibly open up and explain. they'll be looking at his communications with other people. combing through social media, which we know he had a wide presence on social media. looking at all that stuff to see what was happen ing in this kids life. >> now that the suspect is in police custody, what's the next step in this investigation? >> investigators are going to try to understand the pathway to violence for this individual. as andy had just stated before, they're going the try to figure out what type of grievances this individual had to try to piece together what the motive was. we know he has had violent ideauations online through social media. we also want to know is that influencing others. is this leading to a potential copy cat attack anywhere else of people who have the same ideas.

they really want to know the research and planning that went into it. we talked about this being a premedicated attack, but we want to know the level of planning that went into that. and then we also want to think about you know, what led him from these online ideations to actually taking the physical action to go and kill other human beings. again, tragic event. investigators have a lot in front of them but they're working through it quickly. >> jonathan, andrew, thank you. lynn, so mhappy you're okay. just ahead, we're standing by for the news conference in highland park, illinois. we'll have live coverage. also, rudy giuliani and lindsey graham are hit with new subpoenas in the investigation of former president trump's efforts to overturn the election results in georgia. what does it mean for trump and his inner circle? we have details when we come back.

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oh yeah, she digs it. buy your car on vroom.com vroom. get in. a monster was attacking but the team remained calm. because with miro, they could problem solve together, and find the answer that was right under their nose. or... his nose. tonight, the investigation of former president trump's efforts to try to overturn the georgia presidential election results is heat ing up big time. the new subpoenas for rudy

giuliani and senator graham among others. cnn congressional correspondent ryan nobles is working the story. ryan, this is certainly a significant escalation of this investigation in georgia. >> yeah, there's no doubt about that, wolf, but if you were to put out a list of names that you think the fulton county district attorney may be interested in as it relates to the investigation of the possible attempt to overturn the georgia election results, it would be this list. and in particular, the names john eastman, rudy giuliani and lindsey graham of south carolina stand out. all three were actively involved in a pressure campaign that was specifically put on the secretary of state, brad raffensperger, and others to try and investigate claims of fraud in georgia that just did not have a ton of merit behind them or in some case, just encourage is secretary of state to stand in the way of the election results and also involve the state legislature in georgia.

we know a grand jury has been there in georgia and this is one of the places where the former president trump and some of his closest associates could be at the most criminal risk is in the state of georgia. >> i understand we're also just getting some information about a new witness who's agreed to testify publicly in front of the january 6th select committee. what can you tell us? >> yeah, it's a significant one, wolf. cnn learning that sarah matthews, the former deputy press secretary in the trump administration was there on january 6th and resigned shortly after because she was upset with the way the former president and his staff handled january 6th. has agreed to testify publicly at an upcoming hearing. we don't expect it to be a part of next tuesday's hearing which was just announced by the committee. that hearing will focus on domestic extremism and white nationalism and its ties to the trump white house. matthews could be more involved in a hearing that focuses more

on trump's lack of attention of what was happening on january 6th. she's among the allies who have rushed to the defense of cassidy hutchinson, the star witness we saw at the last hearing. >> i want to ask you about somebody that adam kensinger posted on twitter. >> this is something that's happening a lot more and it's something we've heard at least we've heard that it's happened to them before, but to hear it in the way it's been sent to his office is something pretty stark. take a listen. >> i guess i can't say a whole lot more other than i hope you naturally die as quickly as [ bleep ] possible you [ bleep ] piece of [ bleep ]. >> you back stabbing [ bleep ] sitting up there lying like a [ bleep ] dog.

going to come protest in front of your house this weekend. we know where your family is and [ bleep ] get you. >> it's pretty chilling especially when you consider there are direct threats to him and his family. he has a young baby and a wife who are now targets of this vitriol. the other point he made is that the recipients of these voice mail messages are usually his staff interns. these are young people, either high school or college age, getting their first experience on capitol hill and the legis legislative process and this is the kind of filth they're forced to deal with. >> hope he has good security. let's bring in the former assistant u.s. attorney, ellie hoguing. how perilous is this for the former president? >> these subpoenas show me that

georgia prosecutors have their sights set squarely on donald j. trump. when prosecutors issue subpoenas, you typically do not subpoena somebody you see as a target. somebody you're likely to charge. you subpoena somebody where you think their testimony is necessary and valuable and if we look at the seven people who were subpoenaed today, the one thing that unifies them is donald trump. they work with or for trump in his efforts to upset the election results in georgia. seems to me they're trying to get witnesses who can testify about donald trump. we don't know if he'll be indicted, but that seems to be the goal here. >> some of trump's allies have successfully dodged subpoenas but what's going on in georgia is a criminal investigation. that's a completely different situation. right? >> yeah, whole different ball game. we've gotten used to these congressional subpoenas which some have brushed off with no consequences. that will not work here.

really, the people who got these subpoenas can comply and testify, two, go to court and say these subpoenas are invalid somehow. i don't think they have much of a chance of succeeded there. three, they can take the fifth amendment. we've seen john eastman take the fifth amendment. four, some of these people are attorneys, they can claim attorney client privilege. there's an exception if it relates to an ongoing crime. i think all of these people are going to have to testify under these subpoenas. >> what do you make of those awful, very disturbing threats, the voice mail. we just played some of that. the threats that are going against him and his family. >> yeah, wolf, on a human level, they're grotesque and chilling. on a legal level, a person is entitled to petition government to complain even in aggressive or inflammatory way, however, many of those voice mails, perhaps all, cross the line.

it is a federal crime to threaten a federal official. i think it's an easy call listening to those voice mails. they cross that line into the realm of criminal threat. if prosecutors can figure out who made those calls, there could be real legal consequences. >> i suspect they can trace those calls, but we shall see. thank you very much. coming up, we expect a news conference momentarily in highland park, illinois, and as the death toll rises to seven, most of the shooting victims have been identified. as a business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network

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possible criminal charges against the suspect in highland park, illinois. we're told it will begin very, very soon. this comes as a seventh person has now died in the july fourth mass attack. cnn's senior national correspondent, miguel marquez, has more on the lives lost and a community that's grieving. >> reporter: the death toll now at least seven dead. dozens more injured. the fourth of july parade in highland park, illinois. >> 20 to 30 pops, which were shots. >> one after the other. >> pop, pop, pop, pop. had no clue that it was a gun. as soon as i recognized everyone running, i knew it would to have been a shooter. >> reporter: america's latest tragedy. leaving yet another community stunned. of the seven killed, five adults died at the scene and two at the hospital. >> it is with a heavy heart that i bring to you the names of the

victims of that tragedy 64-year-old katherine goldstein of highland park. 35-year-old irina mccarthy of highland park. 37-year-old kevin mccarthy of highland park. 63-year-old jacquelyn sundheim of highland park. 88-year-old stephen straus of highland park. 78-year-old nicolas toledo-zargoza of morelos, mexico. >> the seventh victim has not been identified. the family of 78-year-old nicolas toledo says the father of eight and grandfather to many had been visiting his family in highland park from mexico. they described him as a loving man who was creative, adventurous, and funny. 63-year-old jacki sundheim was a

lifelong congregant and staff member at a nearby synagogue serving as preschoolteacher and events coordinator. in a statement, the north shore congregation saying there are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for jacki's death and sympathy for her family and loved ones. a total of 39 patients were taken to four area hospitals. 26 went to highland park hospital ranging in age from 8 to 85. nine patients now remain hospitalized. john whitehead teaches history in a local school. mass shootings now a part of american history. explaining it nearly impossible. >> to be that close to this seemingly uniquely american activity, this thing, what do you make of it? >> makes me want to throw up every time i think about it. these families have been ruined. this town will bounce back and

we will get back to where we are, but for right now, it's time to mourn and take care of the families that were affected. >> reporter: wolf, i want to show you how disturbing the scene is. john was just down the street here. you can see the debris left over from this. an eerie reminder of how quick, violent and chaotic this was. two of the people did who were killed here, irina and kevin mccarthy, they were here with their 2-year-old son, aidan. he was found here. both his parents are now gone. wolf. >> so heartbreaking, indeed. miguel on the scene for us in highland park. thank you very much. survivors of the deadly attack in highland park are speaking out about what they saw. joining us now, illinois congressman brad schneider who was at the parade.

i want to let you know we're expecting the news conference in highland park to begin. we're going to go to it. we an tis pate they will be making an announcement of criminal charges against the suspect, this person of interest so if i interrupt you, that's why. >> absolutely. >> let me get your reaction to the major news tonight. police now say they have not one but two prior contacts with the suspect including an incident where knives and a sword were seized from his home after he actually threatened to quote, kill everyone. what's your reaction when you hear that? i'll get your reaction later. the news conference is beginning. >> including states attorney eric rheiner. for lake county. fbi essential agent in charge, emerson bulet jr. george resindo. john laush.

highland park mayor. highland park chief of police and we'll begin with states attorney, eric reinhardt. >> good evening. as a resident myself, my family and i grieve with our neighbors over this unimaginable tragedy. i want to express my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives yesterday in this premeditated and calculated attack. separate from those seven lives that were ripped away over two dozen other mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and neighbors were injured. hundreds if not thousands will be psychologically scarred by yesterday's events. these individuals, our community, and lake county will never be the same. we are grateful to the unbelievably courageous law

enforcement officers who were there when the shots were fired right here in this pathway. they and other law enforcement agencies from throughout the state came to this spot of danger. they came to help. they came to protect. they came to comfort. and they came to investigate. federal agencies including the fbi, atf and u.s. attorney's office have also been critical partners in this investigation and you will hear a bit more from them this evening. these officers not only ran towards the danger, but worked tirelessly throughout the day and night to investigate and solve this case. i want to also thank all of the community members and business members and leaders who provided us with dozens of videos and photos. we continue our requests for those photos and videos. this is still an open and active investigation. please continue to contact all of the tip lines that we have

suggested. to those who are physically and psychologically suffering today in hospitals and in homes throughout our community, we offer our most fervent and urgent prayers. we offer prayers for healing even though it feels it may be so far away. i know that the mayor and police chief, lake county and our federal partners have. >> reporter: already started the critical work of individuals who need us so much while they are in the throes of trauma. today, our office deployed victim witness counselors and licensed therapists. dozens of private individuals have volunteered to help. this has been one of the most uplifting things i have ever seen in lake county's his tory. the community has come together even in the throes of trauma. the loss of life and these devastating injuries and the overwhelming psychological trauma demand we seek justice

and that we take broader action to protect life. today, the lake county state's attorneys office has charged robert crimo iii with seven counts of first degree murder for the killing spree he has unleashed against our community. these are just the first of many charges that will be filed against mr. crimo. i want to emphasize that. there will be more charges. we anticipate dozens of more charges centering around each of the victims. psychological victims, victims, attempt murder charges, aggravated charges, there will be dozens more charges against mr. crimo, but these seven counts of first degree murder will lead to a mandatory life sentence should he be convicted without the possibility of parole. none of these charges would be

possible again without the unbelievable efforts of law enforcement. i cannot thank them enough. i have to thank the men and women of the lake county state's attorneys office who have been working with law enforcement since the moment that we identified a suspect. we continue to work with our federal partners to understand every aspect of this well orchestrated and carefully planned crime. tomorrow morning at the lake county courthouse, we will ask a judge to hold mr. crimo without the possibility of bail. as i mentioned our support for victims started today. both from the state's attorneys office, the mayor's office, the city of highland park, the police department, the fbi victim assistance group. we will guide them through the court process and deal with the trauma that will ripple forever

outside of the courtrooms. but how do we make sure there are no more victims? what should have been a celebration of freedom has ended in despair for our community. all the people who died steps from here lost their freedom. all of it. every ounce of freedom they had. the freedom to love. the freedom to learn and the freedom to live a full life. their freedom matters, too. we must do more as we think and reflect upon their freedom on this july 5th. illinois has a strong red flag law that keeps communities safe and respects everyone's rights. we must vastly increase awareness and education about this red flag law called the illinois firearm restraining order. the goal of this tool is to ensure the safety of the individual and those around

them. it allows court to temporarily remove guns and prevent the purchase of new guns by individuals who pose a threat. this allows temporary removal and prohibits the new purchase during the duration of the order. it allows individuals to stabilize their behavior, seek treatment and access other resources that our community must invest in to give those who need help. but separate from these red flag laws, which are very powerful in illinois, we should also ban assault weapons in illinois and beyond. the assault weapon ban was implemented in 1994. with bipartisan support. and with the support of law enforcement. it lasted for ten years. and studies have shown that mass shootings like what happened

yesterday went down during those ten years. we should have that same ban in illinois. and beyond. in the entire country. the lake county states attorneys office stands with the people of highland park. as i said earlier, this is where i am raising my family, also. our violent crimes unit will continue to work with all of our law enforcement partners to continue to build this case. as i said, it is an active and ongoing investigation. our victim services unit will answer every question, every text, every phone call, and every concern. we will stand with the survivors of this awful crime for as long as necessary. in the courtroom, we will seek the maximum sentence against this offender. not because we seek vengeance but because justice and the healing process demand it. as we go forward in the courtroom and in the community, we must do everything we can to

make sure the horror that marked these streets, that echoed from these buildings, never happens again. thank you very much. at this time, i would introduce u.s. attorney and really our partner in this investigation so far, u.s. attorney john la usch. >> i'm the united states attorney here in illinois. i want to echo some of the same words we just heard and commend all of the law enforcement partners and agencies represented here today. in all of our first responders for everything they did to bravely put their lives on the line to help others in need. our office, the u.s. attorneys office, and our other department of justice components, most notably the fbi and the atf, have been working very closely with our state and local law enforcement partners to

investigate this horrific attack. we have been and we will be remain in regular communication with these partners and in particular, the lake county state's attorneys office. i've been in regular contact with states attorney reinhardt since the beginning of this investigation. these state murder charges are appropriate at this time. we will continue to deploy our federal resources in collaboration with these state and local partners to ensure that individuals who commit horrific acts of violence like this using firearms are held accountable. and with that, i'd like to turn it over to the chief of the highland park police department. >> the last approximately 36 hours have been a lesson in the duality of humanity. while the actions that brought us all together exposed the cruelty and callousness that one

person could show to people he did not know in taking their lives, the unwaivering commitment of our highland park team, the drive and determination of those who assisted us in making this arrest and the outpouring of love and support from the community and from people across the nation and the globe have shown us the best in humanity. the american spirit throughout this response to this horrific and absolutely senseless act of violence. we would not be standing here this afternoon announcing the arrest of this suspect without the assistance of countless law enforcement agencies from multiple counties, from the illinois state police, fbi, atf, nipus, lake county coroner's office, the hospital staff, our medical community, and deputy chief caveli of the lake county major crimes task force. thank you. to the highland park community, your strength has bouied our

teams. our city manager's office, our finance and community development departments, your contributions have been invaluable. to the mayor, thank you for your sustained engagement and to the men and women who i serve alongside of in the highland park police department, it is an honor and privilege to serve with you. your commitment and determination to seek justice inspires me. i am proud of illinois law enforcement. at this time, i would like to introduce lake county sheriff deputy chief who's been a spokesperson for the major crime assistance team. z >> thank you, chief. i'm just going to read a brief statement. beginning tomorrow, the fbi's victim service response team will be working in conjunction with local, state, and federal aid groups to staff a family assistance center at the family

assistance center, victims will be offered trauma counseling, government aid assistance and if necessary, financial assistance. vi victims are not just those physically injured in yesterday's events, but those experiencing emotional distress. the center will open tomorrow, july 6th, at noon. victims of yesterday will be able to access assistance at highland park high school. 433 vine avenue. the family assistance center will be available from noon until 9:00 p.m. thursday and friday from noon until 9:00 p.m. and there after as needed. additional information on personal affects left at the scene will be released tomorrow. with that, we are going to open it up for questions. i would ask for a little patience. we have a lot of stakeholders joining us today so we can filter who is best to answer each of the questions asked.

>> to the state's attorney. you went out of your way to note the red flag laws. we know this individual how contacts with law enforcement in 2019 where in one of the contacts he said he wanted to kill everyone in his family and a number of knives were taken away at that time. should that have been a qualifying event under the red flag law which would have prevented him buying firearms in 2020 and 2021. >> we have to look at every case on a case by case basis. i don't know the internal process of the illinois state police in terms of after that report was taken. we know there was not an application for a void pending at that time. the current red flag laws you have a process where things are reported to the illinois state police with respect to foids then the red flag law which were passed in 2019 in terms of getting a court order where family members and other individuals who know the person at issue have to go to a court. so my reference to the red flag laws refers to that regime with

respect to the illinois state police that has to do with the foid application process. >> if i'm hear you right, possibly those qualifying events were before the fact, before we applied, obtained and purchased. >> i would refer all those questions to illinois state police in terms of that internal process back in 2019. >> family members, the timeline, does this moean he had a legal guardian who sponsored his foid card? did he have a legal guardian who sponsored him and if so, are you looking at charges? >> i am absolutely not going to get into that level of detail on the investigation and our process. >> okay, i have a question and probably multiple people could take it. for somebody to plan an escape dressing as a woman -- do you have any theory why somebody would leave a weapon, an easily traceable weapon at the crime scene that could lead to your

identity being known? >> i'm not going to -- >> investigators are very thoroughly looking at every aspect of this. there are a number of theories on the table as to why he left his weapon there. i don't want to get into and speculate anything at this point. there is still a lot of investigative work to do. but that is something investigators are looking into. >> essentially did he leave it because he thought he could make his escape easily if he wasn't holding a large rifle. >> it's very possible. it's very clear to investigators he attempted to blend in with the rest of those fleeing the scene. carrying a rifle wouldn't allow one to blend in very well. >> weapon left behind easily leads to the identity of the person? >> the weapon led to him. directly. >> like leaving your driver's license. >> why he went to the madison area -- >> investigators are still looking into that.

still working many angles. we know he went on a drive following the events, but as to why, it's not something i can get into right now. >> you said at this point, state charges appropriate. when you deem federal charges -- >> the best answer for that is to echo the same points made. this is an ongoing investigation and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment any further at this time, but the charges right now, these are very appropriate charges right now. should not read anything into it. it would not be appropriate for me to comment whether there will be federal charges. >> federal radar and -- to identify these things before they happen. >> okay, so, there's a lot packed into that question. here's what i will say is the partners that are here, okay, and in particular, fbi and atf are the ones standing with me. they work every single day in

order to mitigate threats that they learn of. and this is a particular instance when we had the horrific attack that happened yesterday. how they came to right away in order to help law enforcement ultimately be able to make this case and to bring the appropriate charges in state court, but again at this point, i think it's fair to say this is an ongoing investigation. i'm very proud to be up here with my colleague from the lake county states attorney office, but it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment further about federal charges. >> give us any further clarification on the weapons? where he obtained them and what -- >> so what i know is that two of the weapons were obtained within the region. those were two of the rifles. the rifle used in the attack was purchased by him. i just want to follow up on the question you asked earlier. it's important to note highland park police when they responded to that 2019 incident, they removed the weapons crimo

possessed. the red flag laws, there were no red flag >> now you said the rifles were obtained in the region, but there were the four handguns. >> there were a total of five firearms that he possessed. >> what about, you said the two rifles -- >> they were bought in illinois, i'd have to get specifics as to exactly where. >> in 2021, is that true? so he was sponsored by a legal guardian? >> i don't want to speak to the process of the state police, i don't have enough of their internal information to respond. yes, sir. >> chris, what happened, he went into a house -- >> again, highland park police, ohio state miss, i don't want to

speak to it. at this point, we don't have reason to believe they may have known things, but the investigation is still very active, investigators have a lot of leg work to do so. investigators have spoken to the family, i don't want to gauge their level of cooperation one way or another. the magazines held approximately 30 rounds of rifle ammunition. thank you. >> we'll have more information for shortly. >> looks like they're wrapping up this news conference, very important news conference in highland park illinois, headline, of course, states attorney rinhart announcing seven counts filed, first degree murder charges. there will be more charges filed, he said dozens of addition

additional charges are expected down the road, if now convicted, a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole if convicted, mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, representative greg shneider into represents highland park, still with us. let me get your reaction to what we just heard. congressman, hold on for a moment -- now you're okay. all right, go ahead. let me get your reaction to what we just heard. >> yeah, no, thank you, i'm still processing what i heard. you know, processing the fact that it's a young couple, parents of a two-year-old both murdered, grandparents, grandfather of eight visiting his family in highland park from mexico, all families that will never be the same, shattered and lived destroyed. but i'm pleased that the charges

came back quickly and that the charges carry with it a life sentence without possibility of parole. i think that's appropriately convicted here and i'm grateful as others said, the law enrmt fo, police officers running into the parade, turning to the victims immediately, seeing the support from area first responders, coming to highland park as well as other federal agency and see watching and appreciating the professionalism with which they identified the suspect, located him and apprehended him. and now, within 36 hours, bringing charges. there's a lot of people working very hard and leadership is to be applauded and greatly appreciated. >> they're moving very, very quickly. congressman brad schneider, thank you very much, bringing in

former fbi deputy director, what is your information? >> really interesting, wolf, i was drawn to the questions about whether or not the red flag laws could have been used in the second incident in 2019. we know that the illinois red flag laws passed and were effective on january first of 2019. police went to his residence, a number of, they seized a number of belated wladed weapons but n firearms at the time. police could have gone to the court and requested a red flag removal with the effect of forbidding him to purchase a gun after that, but likely figured they didn't need to do that because he didn't have guns at the time. but really highlights how importance it is for the existence of these laws and how family members can use them. this is the only chance really of stwauping something like this in the future.

>> eli honig with us as well, we did hear from the district attorney, john lausch, still considering whether federal charges will be filed as well. what do you think? >> well, wouldlf, these are sta charges first of all and we take from this, this shooter is very likely to ever get out of prison for the rest of his life. each of these seven counts contains entire life in prison without release. the most likely federal hook in a case like this would be if there was some sort of hate motive, however, it's important to note, illinois does have a hate crime statute, they've not charged that yet, which tells me as of yet they don't have evidence that the motive here was based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation. so if there is no such motive then i don't believe there will be federal charges but the way things are lining up at this point, almost certain this person is going to spend his life behind bars solely on the

state charges. >> with us, cnn law enforcement analyst, former secret agent, we did hear them say this was a well orchestrated and carefully considered crime and don't want tomorrow, when he goes before a judge, any possibility of bail. i assume this guy is not going to get any bail, right? >> absolutely, i don't see any judge in the world that is going to allow this individual to be released. i just think, think about the tone that was set during this pressure. the state's attorney came out right away and said this was premeditated and a calculated attack, and then focused on the charges but more importantly, wolf, focused on the victims and said that aside from the seven counts of first degree murder, more charges will be forth coming and those charges are going to be centered around the victim, and then this press conference did transition into how are we going to take care of the victims of this community? we talked about the victim's

advocated and the resources that will be available for them. that's a big, big component in turning into focusing on the healing process for this community. we have a suspect in custody, he's not getting out of jail, now we start the healing process for these victim and see this press conference really set the tone for that today. >> just to be precise, in 2019, police were called to the house. he was apparently the suspect threatening suicide and then in september of 2019, police were also called to his residence and said he was threatening to quote, kill everyone. that's when he found a bunch of kb knives and other weapons there. no guns, the guns came in later. the red flag laws, we kept hearing about these red flag laws but apparently, he purchased these weapons, he purchased them legally even after these two incidents had occurred which raises at least in my mind, i'm sure in yours, a

lot of questions. >> it really does, wolf, it highlights to you how hard it is to exclude someone from the ability to purchase a firearm. neither of those two incidents raised to the level of an ex clueser under the brady act, only about 10 or 11 of them and one is if you've been adjudicated and mental defective so no one had gone into court and sat in front of a judge and made the argument that mr. crimo should be committed to a mental institution or officially ruled mentally defective. had that happened, he would never have been able to pass a background check to buy a firearm but that is an incredibly high standard. red flag law is an attempt to create a somewhat lower, more immediate standard. any police officer or family member can go in and say this person made aggressive comments or threatened people, what have you, acted aggressively, and your weapons under illinois law can be taken away for two weeks,

at least two weeks and you can't buy firearms during that period, but again, in the september incident, he didn't have firearms. they took the knives and swords away that he had so i'm sure they thought the danger had passed for that moment. little did anyone know, he then went out to purchase two rifles and i believe three additional handguns. >> and legally in the state of illinois, guys, thank you very much, we'll continue to stay on top of this story for sure. finally tonight, we are, of course, thinking of the seven wonderful, innocent people kill said in the highland park shooting in july 4th and thinking of their families. we now know most of their names, we reported them earlier. they are wonderful people like marina and kevin mccarthy, parents of a toddler, nicolas, loving grandfather, jackie suntime who worshipped a at a nearby synagog at highland park. may they all who were killed in

that tragedy rest in peace and as we say, may their memories be a blessing. thanks very much for watching, i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room," erin burnett, "outfront," starts right now. "outfront" next, breaking news. the suspect in the july 4th parade shooting spree charged with seven counts of first degree murder. more charges coming. this, as we are learning more about the victims who so senselessly and needlessly lost their lives, trump insider, lindsey graham, rudy giuliani, how much legal trouble are they in and will this investigation lead directly to trump. and akron ohio protests over the killing of jayland walker who sustained a the leas