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Inside the 8-hour manhunt that led to the capture of Highland Park killer Robert Crimo

While the targeted area has a large Jewish community, police are yet to establish a possible motive for Monday's massacre

The Fourth of July shooting suspect who claimed six lives and wounded 26 others during an independence day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, used a ladder attached to a sporting goods store to climb the roof before ruthlessly spraying bullets from a "high-powered rifle" on revelers.

Authorities identified the suspect as local man Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III, 22, who was arrested more than eight hours after the shooting following a multi-agency manhunt. Photos from the scene of the arrest showed the suspected shooter being pinned to the ground by police. Among the 26 victims injured, six are still receiving hospital treatment at the time of publication. While the targeted area has a large Jewish community, police are yet to establish a possible motive for Monday's massacre.

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Here's what happened

The violence reportedly began at approximately 10:15 am local time, around 15 minutes after the parade began. The gunman is said to have climbed an unsecured ladder attached to Gearhead Outfitters, an outdoor equipment store formerly known as Uncle Dan's. After getting on the roof, the gunman opened fire on the crowd, killing six instantly and injuring dozens more including the elderly and children. Authorities are yet to determine for how long the shooting continued.

While it's unclear what type of gun was used by Crimo in the attack, investigators have referred to it as a "high-powered rifle". However, witnesses have claimed multiple rounds were fired in quick succession, which they say is only possible on a semi-automatic. Police officers at the parade responded to the shooting, but Crimo fled the scene in a 2010 Honda Fit and prompted a multi-agency manhunt.

Crimo lived in a small apartment behind his family residence along Pleasant Avenue in Highwood. Speaking to CNN, his uncle Paul Crimo said he saw his nephew at home the night before the shooting. "Everything was as normal," he noted. The family home, owned by the suspect's father, Bob Crimo, is reportedly just a six-minute drive away from the location of the shooting. The FBI contacted the family around 2:30 pm, and Crimo's father granted investigators permission to search the suspect's apartment.

Law enforcement named Crimo as a suspect in the shooting in an evening press conference around 5 pm. He was described as being white, between 18 and 20 with long black hair, 'slight build', and wearing a t-shirt. Authorities also described his car and gave out his license plate number. At around 7 pm local time, police held another press conference to reveal that Crimo was in custody after being arrested around half an hour earlier.

Crimo was first spotted by members of a North Chicago police unit, according to Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen, who said the suspect fled when officers attempted to pull him over. He came to a stop following a brief chase and was arrested in Lake Forest, Illinois, not far from where the shooting occurred, the Daily Mail reported.