Support truly
independent journalism
In the two days since Donald Trump’s right ear was grazed by a gunman’s bullet at a Pennsylvania campaign rally on Saturday, a complete picture of the 20-year-old suspect is yet to emerge publicly—and details of what led up to the stunning event remain unclear.
Thomas Matthew Crooks had no criminal record, no known history of mental illness, and “was not known to the FBI prior to this incident,” the bureau said. The nursing home dietary aide’s family is working with investigators, who say they have not discovered any evidence of Crooks’ involvement with a broader plot, but are still treating the unsuccessful assassination attempt as a potential case of domestic terrorism.
In an email on Monday to The Independent, administrator Marcie Grimm of the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, said, “We are shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement as Thomas performed his job without concern and his background check was clean.”
Crooks, who was shot dead on a rooftop near the rally site by a Secret Service sniper, is a registered Republican who donated $15 to a Democratic voter-turnout group several years ago, public records show. His father, a licensed behavioral therapist, is a Libertarian. His mom, also a behavioral therapist, is a Democrat. Speaking to The Independent, Crooks’ uncle said he had “no idea” what might have inspired his nephew to take up arms against a major presidential candidate.
The FBI, which has primary jurisdiction over the case, has so far received more than 2,000 tips from members of the public, according to Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek of the bureau’s Pittsburgh Field Office, who said investigators continue to search for answers to the myriad questions that remain.
Secret Service failures?
The shooting was “a security breakdown from start to finish,” former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker told Fox News.
It remains unclear why the building wasn’t better monitored, as it was only around a few hundred yards away from the stage where Trump was speaking. In the days since, the Secret Service has blamed local police for the oversight, who are responsible for securing all areas outside rally boundaries.
After Trump was hit, he took time to mug for the crowd, pumping his fist and appearing to exhort attendees to “fight!” If there had been a second shooter standing by, they would have had another chance at finishing the job, according to Swecker, who said Trump’s Secret Service detail “should have whisked him out of there in seconds, no matter what he wanted to do.”
From here, former Secret Service agent Jonathan Wackrow said the agency must “make sure… to understand where any potential lapses occurred within the security plan.”
“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,” Wackrow told The Independent. “Or if they do, they need to enact those changes extremely quickly.”
Where did he get the gun?
A central question waiting for an answer concerns the weapon Crooks fired at Trump as he addressed a crowd at the Butler Farm Show Grounds. An AR-15 assault-style rifle was recovered next to Crook’s body on a rooftop adjacent to the rally site, according to the FBI.
Crooks’ father, Matthew, legally purchased the gun, which was traced to a now-defunct dealership, authorities said. On a call with reporters the day after the shooting, Rojek said, “We do not know specifically how he accessed the weapon and whether he took it without his father’s knowledge.” The day of the attempted assassination, Crooks bought a box of 5.56 ammunition containing 50 rounds, according to reports.
Although he managed to hit Trump from several hundred yards away, Crooks was a lousy shot, according to a former classmate who said the gunman failed to make his high school rifle team “because [of] how bad of a shot he was, it was considered, like, dangerous.”
Lack of response to reports of suspicious person?
It remains unclear how Crooks was permitted to ascend to the roof of a building just outside the rally perimeter, but still close enough to allow a clean shot at Trump.
Bystander video footage captured in the moments just prior to the gunfire appears to show a handful of concerned attendees attempting to tell police about a suspicious figure atop the American Glass Research building, which was being used as a law enforcement staging area. Trump fan Greg Smith told the BBC that he spotted Crooks “bear-crawling up the roof of the building beside us, fifty feet away from us.”
“He had a rifle, we could clearly see him with a rifle,” Smith said. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why is Trump still speaking, why have they not pulled him off the stage?’ Next thing you know, five shots rang out.”
Motive?
Perhaps the most pressing question for law enforcement is drilling down into Crooks’ motive, which has apparently thus far eluded investigators. In its most recent statement about the shooting, the FBI said its information “to date indicates the shooter acted alone.”
“The FBI has not identified a motive for the shooter’s actions, but we are 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 statement said. “We have also obtained the shooter’s telephone for examination. The FBI has searched the shooter’s home and vehicle to collect additional evidence. Suspicious devices found at both locations have been rendered safe by bomb technicians and are being evaluated at the FBI Laboratory.”
Law enforcement has not turned up a manifesto left behind by Crooks, nor have they identified any particular brand of extremist leanings on his part, officials said.
