TOP SHOT – Former U.S. president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump touches his injured ear during sound check on day three of the 2024 Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 17, 2024.
Andrew Caballero Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump will submit to an FBI victim interview in connection with the assassination attempt at a campaign rally, the FBI told reporters on Monday.
An FBI official said at a press conference that the interview with Trump “will be consistent with our interviews with other victims.”
The official said the department wanted to hear Trump’s “views” on the July 13 incident, in which a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle fired eight shots at Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, as he spoke at a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.
The FBI said it was unable to provide any further details about the shooter’s motive despite conducting hundreds of interviews, sending data requests to dozens of businesses and reviewing thousands of tips in the 16 days since the attack.
Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face and surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is evacuated from the stage during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Republican candidate Donald Trump was evacuated from the stage after what sounded like a gunshot rang out at a rally in Pennsylvania today, according to AFP. The former US president was seen with blood on his right ear and surrounded by security agents who rushed him off the stage as he addressed the crowd to the first ovation. Trump was forced into an SUV and taken away.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
During a conference call Monday, law enforcement officials described the attempted assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, as a “loner” who had little interaction with anyone outside of his immediate family.
A spokesman for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Crooks was shot and killed by US Secret Service agents seconds after the attack, killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore and wounding two others.
Trump also suffered a minor injury to his right ear in the attack. Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said at a press conference that Trump “was struck by both whole and fragmented bullets” fired by Crooks.
The assessment clarified recent congressional testimony from FBI Director Christopher Wray, who had indicated he was uncertain whether Trump was hit by a bullet or shrapnel. Wray’s response was: Trump Supporter.
Rojek on Monday revealed many details about Crooks’ social media habits and plans for the attack, but the motive remains unclear.
Rojek said Crooks was “very intelligent, had attended college and had a stable job.”
An analysis of Crooks’ electronic devices, social media accounts and other sources of information found that he “went to great lengths to conceal his activities.”
But search engine history revealed that Crooks had searched for information about mass shootings, explosives, power plants and other political assassination attempts.
At one point, Crooks searched for “how far was Oswald from Kennedy,” Rojek said.
FBI agents use a hose to wash down the roof where the gunman was positioned during a law enforcement investigation into the shooting at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump on July 14, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Carlos Osorio | Reuters
FBI officials said the gun used in the attack was legally purchased by Crooks’ father in 2013 and transferred to his son last year.
Police found two explosives in the trunk of Crooks’ car near the Trump rally and another in his bedroom.
In the afternoon of the rally, Crooks flew the drone near the event venue for approximately 11 minutes.
More than an hour before the shooting, Crooks had been identified as a suspicious person by police officers, who took photos of him and sent them to other SWAT members and local officials at the scene.
As for how Crooks got onto the roof of a building near the rally, Rojek said the FBI believes he climbed up air conditioning units and pipes on the outside of the building and across multiple roofs.
At approximately 6:11 p.m. ET, Crooks fired eight shots before being shot dead.
This is an evolving story, please check back for updates.
