▶ Watch Video: FBI releases new evidence in Trump rally shooting investigation Washington — The FBI on.
Washington — The FBI on Wednesday released four new photos from its investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, as well as new information about what the bureau has learned about the shooter.
The FBI’s investigation into the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 remains ongoing, and the bureau said it has still not identified a motive or evidence that the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, worked with any others.
Kevin Rojek, head of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told reporters during a briefing that investigators “believe [Crooks] engaged in detailed attack planning.”
Rojek said Crooks became “hyper-focused” on Trump’s campaign rally in Butler once it was announced, and the FBI found a “mixture of ideologies” associated with the gunman. Crooks was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper after he fired eight bullets. Trump was wounded when he was shot in the ear, and two rally attendees were injured. One person was killed in the shooting.
“When this event was announced, the Trump rally was announced, early in July, he became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity,” Rojek said.
Beginning in late September 2023, an online account tied to Crooks was used to search for Trump campaign events scheduled in Pennsylvania, Rojek said. From April 2024 through July 12, the gunman searched for information on campaign events for both Trump and President Biden.
