FBI: Shooter at Trump rally identified as suspect one hour before incident

The police identified the Man from Pennsylvania attempted to murder Donald Trump over an hour before the July 13 shooting at a rally and took a photo that was shared among law enforcement, a FBI agent disclosed. Thomas CrooksThe 20-year-old shooter was identified as a suspect, but still managed to fire the shot before being shot by a Secret agentreported Reuters.
Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said police identified the shooter early on. “The shooter was identified by police as a suspect,” Rojek said at a briefing on the incident. A local officer photographed Crooks and shared the image with other officers at Trump’s rally. About 30 minutes later, SWAT team members observed Crooks using a rangefinder to scan news sites.
Crooks was seen carrying a backpack at 5:56 p.m. local time, less than 20 minutes before the shooting. At 6:08 p.m. local time, he was caught on a police dashboard camera walking on the roof and eventually firing the shots, according to Rojek.
The FBI is compiling a chronology of events but is not responsible for investigating any security lapses in Trump’s security. The motive behind Crooks’ actions remains unclear. He had searched online for previous mass shootings, explosive devices and the attempted assassination of the Slovakian prime minister in May, FBI officials said.
Although Trump is very critical of the FBI, he has agreed to participate in a standard interview with the victim. “We want to hear his side of things,” Rojek said. He confirmed that Trump was hit by a bullet, but it is not clear whether the bullet was whole or in fragments.
Crooks, described as a loner with a very limited social circle consisting mainly of immediate family, had used encrypted applications to make 25 firearm purchases and acquire six chemical precursors for making explosives, according to the FBI. His parents, who cooperated with the investigation, did not find his interest in science and experimentation suspicious.