The weapon Robert Crimo considered using it in the second attack

This is the semi-automatic rifle that Robert Crimo III had stowed in his car after he opened fire at the July 4th parade in Highland Park – one that he intended to use in a second mass shooting over the holiday period.

The Kel Tec SUB2000 – one of at least five weapons the killer legally purchased even after police ruled it a “clear and present danger” – was found in Crimo’s car when he was arrested hours after his carnage, the authorities said police with.

The confessed 21-year-old killer had already dropped the semi-automatic with which he killed seven and injured 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 mother’s car, he drove to neighboring Wisconsin – where he later admitted contemplating a second attack after stumbling upon Independence Day celebrations, police officers said on Wednesday.

He also had about 60 rounds ready, police said.

“He seriously considered using the firearm in his vehicle to commit another shooting in Madison,” Christopher Covelli, spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, said at a news conference.

“[But] There are indications that he did not do enough planning to carry out another attack,” Covelli said.

The photo of the gun, released Wednesday by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, shows it perched on a black backpack in the passenger seat of Crimo’s mother’s car.

Its ease of disassembly and concealment is one of its key selling points, Kel Tec said of the semi-automatic “is the most practical 9mm or .40 caliber rifle on the market.”

“Ideal for backpacking and situations where space and convenience are of paramount importance,” the company says of the gun, which retails for around $600.

“It’s easy to store when folded when space is limited, but ready for action when time is of the essence,” says the gunsmith.

More importantly, Kel Tec boasts, “The SUB2000 is just plain 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 troubled aspiring rapper’s ability to buy the guns has sparked outrage after it emerged he had already been labeled as “a clear and present danger” after threatening in September 2019 to “kill everyone in his family.” kill” when a startling assortment of knives was found at his home.

However, he has never been charged – and his family have never raised any mental health concerns, despite the then 19-year-old threatening suicide.

His father, former mayoral candidate Robert Crimo Jr., helped his son get a gun owner’s identification card — or FOID — just weeks after the threats.

His son then passed four police background checks, despite Illinois’ Warning Sign Act designed to take guns away from those engaged in potentially violent behavior.

In an exclusive interview with The Post, the killer’s father insisted he bore “zero” responsibility for the massacre of his son.

“He bought everything himself and they are registered to him,” the father said of his son’s guns.

“You know, he drove there, he ordered them, he picked them up, they did his background check on everyone,” the under-fire father insisted.

Parents’ attorney Steve Greenberg also told Fox 32 that sponsoring the FOID card was “no different than enrolling your child in driver school.”

Crimo was hit with seven counts of first-degree murder, which would carry a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole.

“There are many, many more charges to come,” Lake County District Attorney Eric Rinehart said, vowing to order attempted murder and aggravated battery charges for anyone injured.

Some of the wounded remained hospitalized in critical condition and the death toll could rise, police warned.