FBI releases photos of rifle used to shoot Trump and reveals gunman had ‘mixture of ideologies’

Investigators believe Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, ‘engaged in detailed attack planning’

The FBI has released photos of the rifle used to shoot former President Donald Trump during the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

The law enforcement agency also announced that they have linked a “mixture of ideologies” to gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, who was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper. One rally attendee was killed in the shooting and two others were injured by the eight bullets fired by Crooks before he was killed.

While the investigation continues, the bureau has said that it has not found any motive or evidence that Crooks had collaborators.

Investigators think Crooks “engaged in detailed attack planning,” the head of the FBI field office in Pittsburgh, Kevin Rojek, said in a press briefing, according to CBS News.

He added that Crooks was “hyper-focused” on the rally in Butler following its announcement and “looked at it as a target of opportunity.”

One online account connected to the gunman was used to search for Trump events in Pennsylvania starting in September last year. Between April of this year and the day before the shooting, Crooks searched for campaign events for Trump as well as President Joe Biden.

Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. New photos of the rifle used in the shooting have been released by the FBI. (Getty Images)

Following the announcement of the rally in Butler, Rojek said Crooks searched for information about that venue, such as the term “Butler farm show podium.”

In June, Crooks searched for things related to both Biden and Trump, such as the dates for the Democratic and Republican conventions.

Accounts connected to Crooks searched for terms related to making explosive devices as early as 2019. Rojek said the gunman searched for terms like “detonating cord,” “how to make a bomb from fertilizer,” and “how do remote detonators work.”

Rojek said that some accounts connected to Crooks were used to post antisemitic comments and investigators are trying to understand if he made those posts himself.

The field office head added that Crooks spent six minutes on the roof from where he took aim at Trump before opening fire. He said the gunman fired eight bullets while law enforcement fired two, one round came from the sniper and the other from a local officer.

There’s no evidence that the local officer struck Crooks, and there’s also nothing to suggest there was another gunman taking aim at Trump.

The FBI said they had a “productive” interview with Trump regarding the shooting and that Crooks’s parents have been “extremely cooperative.”

The law enforcement agency also released new photos of the evidence gathered so far. One of the images released shows the rifle used by Crooks, collected from the site of the shooting – an AR-style rifle produced by DPMS Panther Arms, the firearm has an extendable rear stock and optical sight, according to the FBI.

An image shared by the FBI on August 28 shows the AR-style rifle used by Thomas Matthew Crooks in the shooting that injured former President Donald Trump (FBI)

Another photo shows the rifle disassembled alongside Crooks’s backpack.

Thomas Matthew Crooks’s disassembled rifle and backpack is seen in a photo shared by the FBI (FBI)

The third photo released by the authorities shows two improvised explosive devices in the back of Crooks’s car. The photo was taken by the Allegheny County Police Department.

The FBI revealed that the receiver that would have been used to detonate the devices from a distance was turned off and added that the “devices had several problems in the way they were constructed.”

Two improvised explosive devices can be seen in the trunk of the car of Thomas Matthew Crooks (Allegheny County Police Department / FBI)

The final photo shared by the FBI shows the air conditioning unit that Crooks used to get onto the roof of the building from where he opened fire.

Thomas Matthew Crooks used the white air conditioning on the right to climb onto the roof of the building to take aim at Donald Trump (FBI)