Highland Park Suspect Painted Eerie Mural Of Rifle-Carrying Figure On Wall Outside Mom's Home

Highland Park, Illinois -- Highland Park shooting suspect Robert E. “Bobby” Crimo had reportedly painted a chilling mural of a smiley-face figure brandishing a rifle on the wall of his mother's home.

The revelation of the creepy image comes as the 21-year-old's mother, Denise, was spotted outside her home Wednesday afternoon. The eerie mural, painted on the outside back wall of the house, shows a figure with a yellow happy face clutching what appears to be a high-powered rifle, The New York Post reported. It remains unclear when Crimo painted the mural.

His father, Bob Crimo, told The New York Post on Wednesday his son was just “expressing his art” with the image and it “didn’t really mean anything.” Denise’s estranged husband told local media she was feeling “horrible” after their son allegedly opened fire on several parade-goers.

Monday's mass shooting at a July 4th parade had left seven dead and dozens injured, some critically. Crimo was charged Tuesday with seven counts of first-degree murder after authorities said the horrific crime was pre-meditated and that he’d been planning it for weeks.

“Apparently he’d been planning this for a couple of weeks, but he told his mom he had no plans,” Bob told The New York Post.

After Crimo opened fire on the Independence Day parade-route, the gunman ran to his mom’s house and “borrowed” her car so he could flee the area, authorities said.

At a press conference Wednesday, officials in Lake County, Illinois, said he escaped and noticed a second holiday celebration in Madison, Wisconsin. He had allegedly "contemplated" shooting the second celebration, but ultimately decided not to because he "had not done enough planning," officials said, according to Politico.

Authorities said Crimo had ditched the semi-automatic rifle he used in Illinois, but he had another similar rifle, which had 60 more rounds with him. Police later found his phone in Middleton, Wisconsin, which is about 135 miles from Highland Park.

Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said Wednesday that Crimo "admitted to what he had done." Judge Theodore Potkonjak denied bail in his first court appearance.