Thomas Matthew Crooks, who worked at a nursing home in Bethel Park where he grew up and graduated this spring from a nearby community college, went to the site of Trump’s rally nearly a week before, the lawmakers and others said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details not made public by the FBI.
In addition to Trump and Biden, the shooter had photos of Attorney General Merrick Garland and a member of the British royal family stored on his phone, two people familiar with the investigation said.
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Crooks arrived at the rally site on Saturday morning, hours before the show was to begin. He was found suspicious and flagged an hour before the rally began, the senator, who was part of Wednesday’s briefing, later said. And local police on the scene alerted the Secret Service, sending them a photo of Crooks 26 minutes before the young man opened fire from the roof of an industrial building.
“He had a range finder and a backpack,” Sen. Rep. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement after Wednesday’s briefing that Secret Service Director Kimberly Seatle should resign.
Authorities say Crooks fired an AR-style rifle at Trump from a rooftop outside the rally security perimeter, killing one person in the crowd and seriously wounding two others. He was then shot dead by the Secret Service. Trump was injured. He said a bullet “pierced” his ear at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and was wearing a bandage, but his campaign did not provide further details about his injury or treatment.
Despite the launch of a major investigation after the shooting, and an avalanche of media attention, very little information has emerged publicly about Crooks’ interests and beliefs or the attempted assassination.
FBI agents used Celebrite’s technology, well-known among law enforcement agencies, to access data from phones seized or recovered in criminal investigations. week.
Crooks’ home life and relationship with his parents are of particular interest to investigators as they try to understand his thinking, according to two people familiar with the situation. Like others, He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Both of his parents have health problems, and while the teenager lived with them, investigators were not aware that they kept close tabs on his activities or interests in the days and months leading up to the shooting, they said. .
Crooks, who earned an associate’s degree in engineering science from the Community College of Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania, planned to attend Robert Morris University. In Pittsburgh This fall.
A registered Republican, he has no significant online profile or known political activity. He was a strong math student in high school. His guidance counselor described him as quiet, well-mannered and well-spoken with a small group of friends.
Erin Cox and Gregory S. Schneider contributed to this report.
