Neighbor Of Highland Park Shooter Says She Regrets Turning Him Down: 'I Hurt Him'

Highland Park, Illinois -- A 21-year-old woman, who lives near mass shooting suspect Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, said she now feels guilty for turning him down a few years ago after the mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park made headlines.

The young woman, identified only as Amy, said she lives near Crimo’s father’s home and had a crush on the alleged gunman, according to the New York Post.

“I’m just thinking about him,” Amy told the outlet in an interview Tuesday night. “I didn’t go to sleep last night and I haven’t eaten for two days.”

Although they are neighbors, Amy said she first met Crimo in March 2020 while working at a fast-food joint. She said they became friends as they worked at Panera for a month before the eatery shut down during the pandemic.

Amy claimed they had feelings for each other despite only working at the chain restaurant for a short period of time.

“He said he liked me,” Amy told the outlet, adding that she didn’t date him because her “strict” parents wouldn’t allow it.

“I was like but I don’t date. I can’t date,” she said.

Nevertheless, Amy said they still spoke at their workplace and got to know each other.

“I felt like we’re the same person,” she told the outlet. “We liked anime [and] similar music.”

Amy said Crimo dreamed of opening a deli with his father but was willing to put it on hold just so he could keep working at Panera with her.

“I [didn’t] want to be in his way,” she said. “So I thought maybe if I stopped talking to him, he would do it.”

Amy said they eventually stopped talking and that Crimo no longer waved at her even though they would often pass by each other in the neighborhood

“Every day I would see him go by and he wouldn’t say hi or bye anymore,” Amy went on to say.

The young woman added that she feels guilty for what happened at Highland Park because she might have hurt him by refusing to go out with him.

“I feel like I hurt him. I feel like I might have been something like a broken glass that stabbed him, that might have hurt him. So I feel guilty that this happened,” Amy said.

The young woman said she had no idea about Crimo’s interest in guns and never imagined he would be capable of killing people. Crimo shot parade-goers from a rooftop, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 35.

“He was kind of like the last person I would suspect,” Amy said. “I feel like obviously something pushed him to this.”

Crimo’s online friends believe he struggled with mental health issues but were unaware of his mass shooting plans. The 21-year-old posted music on the internet under the pseudonym Awake the Rapper and had made friends online.

“Pretty much everybody [he was friends with] was online,” one friend, Bennett Brizes, told Rolling Stone. “I don’t think he ever even mentioned an IRL friend besides his ex.”