This is the semi-automatic rifle Robert Crimo III had stashed in his car after his Fourth of July massacre at the Highland Park parade — one he considered using for a second holiday mass shooting.
The Kel Tec SUB2000 — one of at least five guns the killer bought legally, even after cops deemed him “a clear and present danger” — was found in Crimo’s car when he was arrested hours after his bloodbath, police have said.
The confessed 21-year-old killer had already dumped the semi-automatic he used to kill seven and injure dozens more Monday — a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 — at the scene as he fled disguised in women’s clothing.
After fleeing Illinois in his mom’s car, he headed to neighboring Wisconsin — where he later admitted considering a second attack after stumbling across Independence Day celebrations, cops said Wednesday.
He also had approximately 60 rounds on him at the ready, police said.
“He seriously contemplated using the firearm in his vehicle to commit another shooting in Madison,” Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli told a news conference.
“[But] there are indications he didn’t put enough planning forward to commit another attack,” Covelli said.
The photo of the weapon, released Wednesday by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, shows it sitting atop a black backpack on the front passenger seat of Crimo’s mom’s car.
Its ease in breaking down and hiding is one of its main selling points, Kel Tec said of the semi-automatic “designed to be the most convenient 9mm or .40 caliber rifle available.”
“Ideal for backpacking trips and situations where space and convenience are paramount,” the company says of the weapon, which retails for around $600.
“Folded, it tucks away nicely in situations where space is limited, but it’s quick to deploy in situations where time is of the essence,” the gunmaker says.
More importantly, Kel Tec brags, “the SUB2000 is simply fun to shoot.”
Three other firearms — a Remington 700, a shotgun and a Glock 43 — were recovered from Crimo’s home after the shooting, officials said.
The deranged aspiring rapper’s ability to buy the guns has sparked outrage after it emerged he had already been flagged as “a clear and present danger” after threatening to “kill everyone” in his family in September 2019, when a terrifying array of knives were found at his home.
However, he was never charged — and his family never flagged any mental health concerns, despite the then-19-year-old threatening suicide.
His dad, former mayoral candidate Robert Crimo Jr., helped his son get a firearm owner’s identification card — or FOID — just weeks after the threats.
His son then passed four police background checks, despite Illinois’ red-flag law, which is intended to take away guns from people with potentially violent behavior.
In an exclusive interview with The Post, the killer’s dad insisted he had “zero” responsibility for his son’s massacre.
“He bought everything on his own, and they’re registered to him,” the dad said of his son’s weapons.
“You know, he drove there, he ordered them, he picked them up, they did his background check on each one,” insisted the under-fire dad.
The parents’ lawyer, Steve Greenberg, also told Fox 32 that sponsoring the FOID card was “no different than signing up your kid for driver’s ed.”
Crimo has been hit with seven first-degree murder charges, which would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
“There will be many, many more charges coming,” said Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart, vowing to bring attempted murder and aggravated battery charges for each individual who was hurt.
Some of the wounded remained hospitalized in critical condition and the death toll could still rise, police warned.