Washington — The FBI on Wednesday released four new photos as part of its investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, as well as new information about what the bureau has learned about the shooter.
The FBI’s investigation into the July 13 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, is ongoing. The FBI said it has still not found a motive or evidence that the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was working with others.
Kevin Rojek, head of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told reporters during a press conference that investigators “believe the crooks ended up with detailed planning of the attack.”
Rojek said Crooks was “hyper-focused” on Trump’s campaign rally in Butler after it was announced, and the FBI determined the shooter was associated with a “mix of ideologies.” Crooks was shot by a Secret Service sniper after firing eight shots. Trump was wounded by a shot to the ear, and two rally attendees were injured. One person was killed in the shooting.
“When this event, the Trump rally, was announced in early July, he was hyper-focused on this specific event and viewed it as a target of opportunity,” Rojek said.
The new FBI photos
The first photo released by the FBI shows Crooks’ rifle found at the crime scene. The weapon was a DPMS Panther Arms AR-style rifle and had an extendable buttstock and a rail-mounted optical sight, the FBI said.
FBI
The second FBI photo shows Crooks’ rifle disassembled next to a backpack he was carrying at the site of Trump’s rally in Butler. FBI Director Chris Wray told members of the House of Representatives Last month, Crooks said his gun had a folding stock, which he said might explain why rally attendees didn’t see him with it.
Wray said the first people at the rally to see Crooks with a gun observed him as he was on the roof of the so-called AGR building and opened fire from there.
FBI
The third photo released by the FBI shows two explosive devices discovered in the trunk of Crooks’ car.
The FBI said the remote detonation receiver was set to “off” and the “devices had several design problems.”
Wray testified before Congress that the FBI had recovered a total of three “relatively primitive” explosive devices: two from Crooks’ vehicle and one from his apartment. The shooter had a transmitter that could have remotely detonated the explosive devices in his car, but the receivers were turned off, he said.
FBI
The fourth and final FBI photo shows the air conditioning unit that Crooks used to get to the roof of the AGR building. The photo is not evidence, but was taken during a tour of the rally site in the days following the assassination, according to the FBI.
FBI
