Police spotted a Pennsylvania man who tried to assassinate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump an hour before the July 13 shooting and took a photograph of him to share with other law enforcement officials, an FBI official said Monday.
“Law enforcement agencies have identified the shooter as a suspect,” Kevin Rozek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told reporters about the attempted murder investigation.
He said a local officer took a photo of gunman Thomas Crooks and sent it to other law enforcement officials on the scene of Trump’s Pennsylvania rally that day. About 30 minutes later, SWAT team operators spotted Crooks using a rangefinder and browsing news sites, Rojek said.
Rozek said Crooks was seen carrying a bag at 5:56 p.m., less than 20 minutes before the shooting, and at 6:08 p.m. he was captured on a police dashboard camera walking to the rooftop where he ultimately opened fire.
He said that although the FBI is not the agency responsible for investigating any lapses in Trump’s security, FBI personnel were preparing a timeline of events.
FBI officials said they had not yet determined a motive for the killing of Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman, who was killed by a Secret Service agent after a shootout.
But he said he had searched online for previous mass shootings, improvised explosive devices and an attempt to assassinate the Slovakian prime minister in May.
Trump, who has been highly critical of the FBI, has agreed to sit for a standard victim interview, which “would be consistent with any victim interview we do,” Rojek said. “We want to get his perspective.”
Rojek confirmed that Trump was hit by a bullet, whether it was “a whole bullet or shattered into little pieces.”
FBI officials described Crooks as a loner who had no close friends or acquaintances, and whose social circle was limited primarily to immediate family members.
Using an encrypted application, he made 25 firearms-related purchases and purchased six chemical precursors used to make explosive devices, FBI officials told reporters.
His long-standing interest in science and habit of performing scientific experiments did not arouse suspicion from his parents, who the FBI said were cooperating with their investigation.
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