WAUKEGAN, Il— Survivors recounted the horror a gunman caused when he fired dozens of bullets at a 2022 Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, detailing during a sentencing hearing for the man on Wednesday how they fled the route, hid inside businesses or treated the wounded packed into an emergency room.

Robert E. Crimo III, 24, changed his plea to guilty moments before his trial last month after years of unpredictable legal proceedings. The hearing is scheduled to resume today.

Survivors and relatives of those killed read statements addressed to Crimo, even though authorities said he refused to appear in court or watch from jail. Some described feeling empty or deeply sad; others said they now fear public gatherings.

But most used their time simply to remember the people killed.

“You took my mom,” said Leah Sundheim, the only child of Jacquelyn Sundheim. “I will never be able to summarize how simply extraordinary she was, and how devastating and out of balance my life is without her.”

— The Associated Press