The FBI said it was investigating the shooting as a potential act of domestic terrorism, but officials have not publicly disclosed a possible motive.
The 20-year-old man who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump left behind few clues after he opened fire at a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend.
In the wake of the shooting that killed one spectator, investigators said they are searching for anything that might have driven Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to try to kill the former president on July 13.
The FBI said it was investigating it as a potential act of domestic terrorism, but so far, officials have not publicly disclosed a motive in the case.
State and federal records show Mr. Crooks was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania. However, federal campaign finance reports show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee, ActBlue, on Jan. 20, 2021, on the day President Biden was sworn into office.
In an FBI search of his home and vehicle, “suspicious devices found at both locations have been rendered safe by bomb technicians and are being evaluated at the FBI Laboratory,” a spokesperson told The Epoch Times on Sunday, July 14.
The firearm, described by FBI special agent Kevin Rojek as an AR-style rifle, was purchased legally. And Mr. Crooks was not on law enforcement’s radar before Saturday’s shooting, the FBI said, while adding that the bureau believes he acted alone.
The FBI is “working to determine the sequence of events and the shooter’s movements prior to the shooting, collecting and reviewing evidence, conducting interviews, and following up on all leads,” the bureau said, adding that agents have acquired his phone for examination.
Video footage and photos taken during the shooting show Mr. Crooks was wearing a T-shirt that had the text “Demolition Ranch,” a highly popular gun-related channel on YouTube.
The host of the channel, Matt Carriker, wrote on social media that he will issue a public statement on the matter in the near future but is “still just in disbelief honestly.”
Neighbors of Mr. Crooks and a phone associated with his Pennsylvania home did not respond to multiple requests for comment via telephone. His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN on Saturday that he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” and won’t speak about his son until he communicates with law enforcement officials.
Over the weekend, Mr. Rojek told reporters that the Crooks family is cooperating with the FBI’s investigation.
Video footage taken by media outlets of the Crooks home showed several individuals who appear to be federal officials speaking with a middle-aged man who had answered the door.
