Donald Trump Shooter ‘Hyper-Focused’ After He Learned of PA Rally: FBI

The FBI provided an update Wednesday on its investigation into last month’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, telling reporters during a briefing that investigators believe the shooter “became hyper-focused” on the specific rally after it was announced.
On July 13, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump, theRepublican presidential nominee, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Crooks grazed Trump’s right ear, injured two attendees and killed another, Corey Comperatore. He fired eight rounds before he was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper. The autopsy report indicates he was pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m. on July 13 from a gunshot wound to the head.
On Wednesday, the FBI released four new photos related to its investigation of the assassination attempt, including images of Crooks’ rifle recovered at the site, a backpack, a car trunk, explosive devices, and the route Crooks used to access the rooftop. The rifle was determined to be an A-15 DPMS Panther Arms.
Kevin Rojek, head of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, which is leading the investigation, told reporters that Crooks “became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity,” the Associated Press reported.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign manager for comment on this story via email on Wednesday.
The investigation, which Rojek says includes nearly 1,000 interviews and analysis of hundreds of hours of video footage, seeks to identify a motive and determine whether Crooks worked with co-conspirators or acted alone.
The FBI did not report any motive for the assassination attempt. However, Rojek said investigators believe Crooks conducted “detailed attack planning” and pre-attack research, including several search queries about the layout of the Butler rally, such as “Butler farm show podium.”
Rojek said that an online account tied to Crooks had been used since late September 2023 to search for Trump campaign events in Pennsylvania. He said Crooks searched for campaign events for President Joe Biden, who was still the Democratic presidential candidate at the time, in western Pennsylvania from April 2024 to July 9. In the 30 days leading up to the attack, Crooks conducted upwards of 60 searches related to Biden and Trump.
Once the Trump rally in Butler was announced, he began to search more specifically about the grounds. He registered for the rally on July 6. The account also searched for information related to the dates of the Democratic and Republican conventions.
The bureau also found that since 2019, accounts tied to Crooks had searched for information about explosive devices, such as “how to make a bomb from fertilizer” and “how do remote detonators work.”
“We have not uncovered any credible evidence indicating the subject conspired with anyone else,” Rojek said.
“The American people deserve answers, and the FBI stands committed to providing them.”
Updated 8/28/24, 3:37 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and context.
Updated 8/28/24, 3:24 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and context.