Trump shooter bought 50 rounds of ammo hours before assassination attempt and had transmitter on him - The Independent

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The suspected Trump rally shooter bought 50 rounds of ammunition, hours before carrying out the attack, according to a report.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was identified by law enforcement as the gunman who attempted to assassinate the former president at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday evening.

Senior law enforcement officials told CNN that Crooks bought a large amount of ammo from a local gun store shortly before the attack.

The FBI declined to confirm if the report was true but said they “successfully gained access” to Crooks’ phone and will continue to analyze his electronic devices.

“The search of the subject’s residence and vehicle are complete. The FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement personnel, event attendees, and other witnesses. That work continues,” the FBI said in a statement.

Crooks used a legally purchased, AR-style rifle with 5.56-caliber bullets in the shooting. Federal law enforcement believes that the gun belonged to Crooks’ father.

Records, reviewed by CNN, reveal that the gunman’s father had more than 20 legally purchased guns registered to himself.

Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified by the FBI as the shooter involved in an assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday, 13 July 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania (AP)

The FBI’s preliminary investigation revealed that Crooks possibly had bomb-making materials in the car that he drove to the rally grounds.

Investigators found a transmitter on the gunman but it is unclear at this time if it was related to the possible explosives found in the vehicle.

Law enforcement officials believe Crooks acted alone in the shooting.

The shooting injured the former president and killed a rally-goer, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore. Two other men have been critically injured.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania (Getty Images)

The shooter was shot dead by snipers after he opened fire, shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The former president was minutes into his speech when several gunshots rang out. A bullet grazed Trump’s right ear and caused blood to pour down his cheek. Trump ducked behind the lectern and then Secret Service agents surrounded him, forming a barricade and rushing him from the stage to a waiting motorcade.

Crooks’ family members told The Independent that they were shocked by the 20-year-old’s actions and could not understand why he carried out the shooting.

“I haven’t seen the kid since he was little,” his uncle Mark Crooks said. “He never wanted to bother [with maintaining a relationship], so we don’t see him.”

Two FBI investigators scan the roof of AGR International Inc, the building adjacent to the Butler Fairgrounds, from which alleged shooter Matthew Thomas Crooks fired at Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Publicly available information revealed Crooks was a registered Republican but donated to a Democratic PAC in 2021.

So far, the FBI has not identified a motive but they have obtained Crooks’ cellphone to assist their investigation.

President Joe Biden delivered remarks on Sunday from the White House, urging the public to avoid assumptions about the suspected gunman’s motives or affiliations.

The shooting is being investigated as an assassination attempt as well as potential domestic terrorism.

This article has been updated on Monday, July 15, 2024

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Trump’s attempted assassin was rejected from school gun club because he was a ‘bad shooter’ - The Independent

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The 20-year-old gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump at a campaign rally was previously rejected from his high school shooting club because he was “a bad shooter”, it has been revealed.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot dead on Saturday evening by Secret Service agents after he opened fire on the former president from a vantage point of the rooftop of a building just outside the security perimeter of the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The gunman, from nearby Bethel Park, fired several shots toward Trump – with one narrowly missing his head and striking him in the ear.

Trump ducked down behind the podium and his security detail rushed on stage to protect him, but three rally attendees were struck by the spray of bullets.

Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief who was attending the rally with his family, was killed as he threw his body over his loved ones to protect them from the gunfire. Two other rallygoers – David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74 – were injured and rushed to hospital in critical condition. By Sunday afternoon, their conditions had been updated to stable.

Follow our live blog for updates on the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump

As authorities work to determine what motivated the 20-year-old to stage the assassination attempt on the former president, former classmates, friends and family members are coming forward with details about his background.

Crooks’ former classmates at Bethel Park High have revealed that he was interested in firearms during his school days – and had attended trials for the school’s rifle team.

Jameson Myers told ABC News that Crooks fell short of making the team and was asked not to return to the club after the preseason due to his “dangerous” shot.

Shooter Thomas Crooks is pictured in a yearbook photo (AP)

“He didn’t just not make the team, he was asked not to come back because how bad of a shot he was, it was considered like, dangerous,” said Myers, who went to both elementary and high school with Crooks.

A member of the rifle team, who wished to remain anonymous, also told the network that Crooks’ “shot terribly” and “wasn’t really fit for the rifle team”.

Crooks graduated from high school in 2022 but his interest in guns clearly didn’t end there.

He was a member of local sports club – Clairton Sportsmen’s Club in Pennsylvania – which has a 200-yard rifle range, CNN reported.

The club’s attorney confirmed in a statement that the shooter was a member but said they could not “additional commentary in relation to this matter in light of pending law enforcement investigations”.

It is unclear if Crooks specifically used the rifle range at the club.

Investigators believe that the AR-style rifle used in the attack had been purchased by Crooks’ father around six months before the shooting.

Bethel Park police officers outside the home of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks (REUTERS)

The FBI is now probing how Crooks – who at the age of 20 could legally own a rifle under state law – got his hands on the gun and whether he took it without his father’s permission.

Despite his interest in guns, people who knew Crooks have revealed their surprise that he was behind the assassination attempt, describing him as a loner who didn’t appear to engage in political discourse.

Former classmate Sarah D’Angelo told The Wall Street Journal that Crooks had “a few friends,” but not “a whole friend group,” and “never outwardly spoke about his political views or how much he hated Trump or anything”.

Another classmate said that his views had been “slightly right leaning,” while another told the New York Post they would have “pegged him as a Republican”.

Online records reveal that Crooks had been registered to vote as a Republican. That said, federal campaign finance reports show that he had also made a $15 contribution to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called Progressive Turnout Project on January 20, 2021.

Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump is escorted to a motorcade following attempted assassination (AP)

The motive for the attack remains unclear, with authorities saying on Sunday that they are combing through Crooks’ background including trying to access his cellphone to try to find out more.

The 20-year-old had not been on the radar of law enforcement before the shooting and no evidence had yet been found of a mental health issue, the FBI said.

Yet, besides the AR-style weapon recovered from the scene, explosive devices were discovered in both the gunman’s car, which was parked close to the rally, and his home.

For Crooks’ family members, the motive for the horrific attack also remains a mystery with his uncle, Mark Crooks, telling The Independent on Sunday morning that he had “no idea” why it happened.

“I don’t know what to say,” he said.

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Donald Trump says 'I'm supposed to be dead' after assassination attempt - Evening Standard

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‘The job is all about anticipation’: behind the lens of the defining photo of the Trump rally shooting - The Guardian US

It is a photograph that seems almost impossible: moments after a bullet grazes his ear, a former US president stands with his fist raised defiantly. The sky behind him is clear blue and an American flag flies overhead, fully in frame. The expressions on the faces of each secret service agents are clear and a smear of blood runs from Donald Trump’s ear to his cheek.

The photograph was taken by Evan Vucci, chief Washington photographer for the Associated Press. Vucci has been covering Trump since his candidacy eight years ago and in 2020 won a Pulitzer for a photograph of protests after George Floyd’s death.

“I heard the shots. So I ran to the stage as the Secret Service agents were starting to cover President Trump up. They were coming up on the stage from all different directions, and they were going on top of him. I went to the front, side of the stage and I started photographing everything I could,” says Vucci, who told the Guardian he has covered hundreds of rallies like the one in Pennsylvania on Sunday.

More agents arrived, he said, and what appeared to be a Swat team.

“I started thinking, OK, what’s going to happen next? Where is he going to go? Where do I need to be? Where do I need to stand? What is going to happen?”

“The job is all about anticipation,” Vucci says.

Vucci started thinking about the evacuation route. It would be on the other side of the stage, the quickest way to Trump’s SUV. He positioned himself at the stairs near the stage.

The job of the secret service agents is “to stop Trump from being seen,” he says. When Trump stood up, and the agents were still trying to cover him, says Vucci, but Trump, “was kind of fighting his way to the front.”

Audio shows that while he was surrounded by secret service agents, Trump asked to first get his shoes. “OK. One shoe’s there,” an agent says. “Come on, Let’s get the shoe.”

Then Trump says, “Wait, wait, wait wait.” He touches his hair, reaches his right hand through the barrier formed by the secret service agents, and lifts his fist. Grimacing, he says, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”.

Vucci says he “was somewhat taken aback” when Trump raised his fist, but there was only one thing was running through his mind: “Slow down, think, compose. Slow down, think, compose.”

Vucci’s camera was connected to a hotspot and automatically sent photographs back to his editor as he took them. “Just keep sending,” his editor told him.

Once Trump had left in the SUV, Vucci and other photographers were pulled into a tent, he says. They had zero mobile phone signal, so it was only about 45 minutes later, when Vucci emerged into an empty parking lot, that he saw the image for the first time, on social media.

“The thing about photography is two people can see the exact same image and have a completely different reaction.”

But what makes it so striking is “the blood on the face, it’s the flag, the raised fist.”

“A lot of strong, strong emotions are happening in that image, and I think that’s what people are reacting to.”

‘The composition is fantastic’

“There are some photos which are captured in the intense heat of a news story breaking which can actually slow it down. And that was one of them,” says Guardian Australia’s photo editor, Carly Earl.

Often, photographers covering breaking news won’t know that they’ve taken a perfect photograph, but as an editor, when you see it, you think, “Jackpot”.

In the case of Vucci’s photograph it’s about leading the viewer’s eye.

“It leads you back in, almost like a vortex. Trump’s face is what you’re constantly drawn to, but then the action around him is like a frame,” says Earl, adding that the “composition is fantastic.”

The fact that he’s got the depth of field here means that all of the faces are pin sharp, she says, and so “you get to engage with what they’re feeling as well, not just Trump.”

The arm on the bottom right of the frame shows the viewer that there is action happening around the frame, out of view, she says.

The Atlantic called it, “undeniably one of the great compositions in US photographic history,” while a senior New York Times journalist said it was, “The pinnacle of photojournalism. A perfectly framed and composed image of historic breaking news.”

When you’re covering politics, Vucci says, “Something weird can happen at any moment”.

But there is also a lot of repetition. “Every day is almost the same: a lectern, a politician speaking.”

So you’re constantly trying to work out how to do things differently, he says.

“That’s the million dollar question in Washington when you’re covering politics.”

Vucci has covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – as well as both the Trump and Biden presidencies. Asked which of the thousands and thousands of his pictures he is proudest of, he laughs. “The next one, the next one,” he says.

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Secret Service under scrutiny over attempted Trump assassination at rally - The Independent

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Major questions are being asked of the Secret Service after Donald Trump was targeted by a lone gunman in an assassination attempt at his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday night.

The former president was shot in the ear around 15 minutes after he took to the stage at the campaign event in Butler.

He dropped to the ground and was swarmed by his security detail who rushed him off stage to a waiting motorcade. He could be seen raising his fist in the air and mouthing the words, “Fight, fight, fight.” He was later discharged from a local hospital and flew to New Jersey.

The former president thanked God for preventing the “unthinkable from happening” and said he would remain “defiant in the face of wickedness”.

Trump is covered by his security detail after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania (Getty Images)

On Sunday morning, the FBI identified the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was shot dead by snipers at the scene.

As the investigation gets underway, serious questions are being asked of the Secret Service, whose job it is to provide former presidents with lifelong protection.

Follow our live blog for updates on the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump

On Sunday, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, was forced to deny a claim that the Trump team had asked for additional security and were refused.

“There’s an untrue assertion that a member of the former president’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo,” Guglielmi posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent, told The Independent multiple investigations will be launched following the attempt on Trump’s life.

“There will be multiple investigations. First, a criminal investigation being led by the FBI. Because it’s an assassination attempt of a former president, they have primary jurisdiction on that. There will be a state investigation on state-level charges regarding other victims the shooter has impacted,” he said.

“The Secret Service will obviously be a key stakeholder, but these are not their investigations. The Secret Service will primarily be focused on a mission-assurance review to make sure their protective methodology was applied correctly [and] that the site was built out to the standards all agents have been trained on, to understand where any potential lapses occurred within the security plan. There are a lot of issues that are coming into play.

“Those buildings were outside of the primary secure site but still within the area of vulnerabilities, so a lot of questions remain unanswered. The Secret Service needs to act quickly to ensure they don’t need to modify anything, moving forward. Was something amiss? Was there a communications issue? What were the precipitating events that this shooter took to get up onto the roof?

“The next few months are a sprint for the Secret Service. The candidates are going to be doing rallies, [and] multiple events, so the Secret Service has to ensure their methodology and approach doesn’t need to be changed. Or if they do, they need to enact those changes extremely quickly.”

The gunman fired multiple shots with an AR-style rifle at the stage from an “elevated position outside of the rally venue”, the Secret Service said.

Analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos from the Trump rally, as well as satellite imagery of the site, showed the shooter was able to get close to where Trump was speaking, according to the Associated Press.

A map showing where the attacker was located when he fired shots toward Trump on stage (Anadolu via Getty Images)

The shooter was less than 500ft from the stage.

After the shooting, an eyewitness told the BBC that he had pointed out the gunman to the Secret Service, minutes before the attack took place.

The man, identified only as Greg, said: “We’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof. We could clearly see him with a rifle.

“I’m standing there pointing at him for two to three minutes. Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn, I’m pointing at the roof... and next thing you know, five shots rang out.”

The man said the shooting came from outside the secured perimeter at the event.

The FBI has taken over the investigation of the attack. At a briefing late on Saturday, FBI officials said it was surprising that the suspect was able to fire multiple shots.

Former president Trump raises his fist to the crowd after being shot on stage at the rally (AP)

Members of the Secret Service’s counter-sniper team and counter-assault team were at the rally, according to two law enforcement officials.

The heavily armed counter-assault team, who have the Secret Service code name “Hawkeye”, are responsible for eliminating threats so that other agents can shield and take away the person they are protecting.

The counter-sniper team, known by the code name “Hercules”, use long-range binoculars and are equipped with sniper rifles to deal with long-range threats.

The Oversight Committee in the Republican-led House of Representatives has summoned Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle to testify at a hearing scheduled for July 22.

“Americans demand answers about the assassination attempt of President Trump,” the panel said in a statement.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said: “We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms and commend the Secret Service for their swift action.

“We are engaged with President Biden, former President Trump and their campaigns, and are taking every possible measure to ensure their safety and security.”

Trump supporters also blasted the Secret Service. “How was a sniper with a full rifle kit allowed to bear crawl onto the closest roof to a presidential nominee,” asked conservative activist Jack Posobiec on X.

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FBI identifies gunman after Trump assassination attempt in Pennsylvania - Evening Standard

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Secret Service faces scrutiny over attempted Trump assassination at Pennsylvania rally - The Independent

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Louise Thomas

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Major questions are being asked of the Secret Service after Donald Trump was targeted by a lone gunman in an assassination attempt at his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday night.

The former president was shot in the ear around 15 minutes after he took to the stage at the campaign event in Butler.

He dropped to the ground and was swarmed by his security detail who rushed him off stage to a waiting motorcade. He could be seen raising his fist in the air and mouthing the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!” He was later discharged from a local hospital and flew to New Jersey.

The former president thanked God for preventing the “unthinkable from happening” and said he would remain “defiant in the face of wickedness”.

Trump is covered by his security detail after an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13 (Getty Images)

On Sunday morning, the FBI identified the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was shot dead by snipers.

As the investigation gets underway, serious questions are being asked of the Secret Service, whose job it is to provide former presidents with lifelong protection.

Follow our live blog for updates on the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump

On Sunday, Anthony Guglielmi, Chief of Communications for the Secret Service, was forced to deny a claim that the Trump team had asked for additional security and were refused.

“Theres an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo,” Guglielmi posted on X.

Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent, told The Independent that multiple investigations will be launched following the attempt on former president Trump’s life.

“There will be multiple investigations—first, a criminal investigation being led by the FBI. Because it’s an assassination attempt of a former president, they have primary jurisdiction on that. There will be a state investigation on state-level charges regarding other victims the shooter has impacted,” he said.

“The Secret Service will obviously be a key stakeholder, but these are not their investigations. The Secret Service will primarily be focused on a mission-assurance review to make sure their protective methodology was applied correctly [and] that the site was built out to the standards all agents have been trained on, to understand where any potential lapses occurred within the security plan. There are a lot of issues that are coming into play.

“Those buildings were outside of the primary secure site but still within the area of vulnerabilities, so a lot of questions remain unanswered. The Secret Service needs to act quickly to ensure they don’t need to modify anything, moving forward. Was something amiss? Was there a communications issue? What were the precipitating events that this shooter took to get up onto the roof?

“The next few months are a sprint for the Secret Service, the candidates are going to be doing rallies, multiple events, so the Secret Service has to ensure their methodology and approach doesn’t need to be changed. Or if they do, they need to enact those changes extremely quickly.”

The gunman fired multiple shots with an AR-style rifle at the stage from an “elevated position outside of the rally venue,” the Secret Service said.

Analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos from the Trump rally, as well as satellite imagery of the site, showed the shooter was able to get close to where Trump was speaking, according to the Associated Press.

Map showing where the attacker was located when he fired shots toward Trump on stage (Anadolu via Getty Images)

The shooter was less than 500ft from the stage.

After the shooting, an eyewitness told the BBC that he had pointed out the gunman to the Secret Service, minutes before the attack took place.

The man, identified only as Greg, said: “We’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof. We could clearly see him with a rifle.

“I’m standing there pointing at him for two to three minutes. Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn, I’m pointing at the roof... and next thing you know, five shots rang out.”

The man said the shooting came from outside the secured perimeter at the event.

The FBI has taken over the investigation of the attack. At a briefing late on Saturday, FBI officials said that it was surprising that the suspect was able to fire multiple shots.

Former President Donald Trump raised his fist to the crowd after being shot on stage in Pennsylvania at a rally (AP)

Members of the Secret Service’s counter-sniper team and counter-assault team were at the rally, according to two law enforcement officials.

The heavily-armed counter assault team, who have the Secret Service code name “Hawkeye,” is responsible for eliminating threats so that other agents can shield and take away the person they are protecting.

The counter-sniper team, known by code name “Hercules,” uses long-range binoculars and is equipped with sniper rifles to deal with long-range threats.

The Oversight Committee in the Republican-led House of Representatives has summoned Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify at a hearing scheduled for July 22.

“Americans demand answers about the assassination attempt of President Trump,” the panel said in a statement.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said: “We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms and commend the Secret Service for their swift action.

“We are engaged with President Biden, former President Trump and their campaigns, and are taking every possible measure to ensure their safety and security.”

Trump supporters also blasted the Secret Service. “How was a sniper with a full rifle kit allowed to bear crawl onto the closest roof to a presidential nominee,” asked conservative activist Jack Posobiec on X.

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2024-07-14 14:13:59Z
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