Explosive devices were found in the vehicle of the gunman who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump during his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Sources close to the investigation into the shooting told The Wall Street Journal that the car, driven by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was located not far from the rally site in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Authorities told the Journal that police received several reports of suspicious packages in the vicinity where the shooter was located, leading them to deploy bomb technicians. Sources added that officials worked late into the night to secure the scene before proceeding to search Crooks' family home, shortly away from the scene.
Shocking New Revelations
Crooks fired multiple rounds from a rooftop nearby before a Secret Service sniper returned fire, resulting in his death. At the scene, an AR-style rifle was found. The weapon was reportedly bought by the gunman's father, as reported by the Journal.
One of these shots grazed Trump's ear. Sources said that Crooks crawled onto the roof of a manufacturing plant located over 130 yards away from the stage at the Butler Farm Show grounds.
Police said, Crooks didn't have any criminal history. This came as the first photograph of Crooks emerged.
He was wearing a t-shirt promoting a well-known firearms YouTube channel named Demolition Ranch.
According to state voter records, Crooks was registered as a Republican. This year's presidential election would have been his first opportunity to vote.
Crooks lived about an hour away from Butler, where the shooting took place. On July 14, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) closed airspace over Bethel Park citing "special security reasons."
In addition to his voter registration, a 2021 filing with the Federal Election Commission disclosed that Crooks had contributed $15 to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports left-leaning and Democratic candidates.
The donation was designated for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national organization that encourages Democratic voter turnout. Both ActBlue and the Progressive Turnout Project did not respond to requests for comment.
Impressive Academic Record
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 and was received a $500 "star award" from the National Math and Science Initiative. A video from the 2022 graduation ceremony shows Crooks receiving his diploma, wearing glasses and a black graduation gown, and posing for photos with a school official.
Police had blocked off the streets surrounding Crooks' house. The U.S. Secret Service is investigating how a gunman with an AR-style rifle was able to get so close and injure former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania.
The shooter, who was killed by a Secret Service sniper, fired several shots from an "elevated position outside of the rally venue," according to the agency.
An analysis by the Associated Press of more than a dozen videos and photos from the rally, as well as satellite imagery, reveals that the gunman got alarmingly close to the stage where Trump was speaking.
A video posted on social media and verified by the AP shows a man in gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a manufacturing plant just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds, the rally site.
The roof was less than 150 meters (yards) from Trump's location, a distance from which a skilled marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target.
For context, U.S. Army recruits must hit a scaled human-sized silhouette at this distance to qualify with the M16 assault rifle in basic training. The AR-15, used by the shooter, is the semi-automatic civilian version of the military M16.
Authorities have not shared a potential motive behind the shooting.
