REVEALED! What gunman Thomas Crooks searched prior to his assassination bid on Donald Trump
United States former president Donald Trump and his attacker Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told members of Congress on Wednesday (Jul17) that gunman Thomas Crooks, who attempted to kill former United States President Donald Trump had used his smartphone to search for images of the Republican leader as well as his successorJoe Biden.
FBI stated that Crooks also searched fordates of Trump appearances and the Democratic National Convention (DNC) where Democrats are expected to certify Biden's nomination for president.
Despiteuncovering and cracking two of Crooks' mobile phones, the FBI said it had not found any definitive evidence to suggest that the 20-year-old shooter had strong partisan political views.
Further investigation of Crooks'devices revealed that he also searched about the director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, and US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Crooks was killed by the US Secret Service (SS) last Saturday (Jul 13) after he fired multiple rounds from an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in a bid toassassinate Trump. The former president was saved by mere inches as the bullet meant for his head, only grazed the top portion of his right ear.
Prior to being neutralised by the SS, Crooks managed to evade the heavy security arrangement and climbed to the roof of a building that brought him within a 130-metre radius of Trump. Reports indicate that the 20-year-old had pointed his rifle at a local law enforcement officer who had climbed the roof and moments later managed to take a shot at Trump.
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Who was Thomas Crooks?
According to reports Crooks was a loner who had been bullied in high school.Crooks' former classmates at Bethel Park High School described him as smart but standoffish who maintained his distance and could often be spotted wearing headphones and sitting alone at lunch - looking at his phone.
"He sat by himself, didn't talk to anyone, didn't even try to make conversation.He was an odd kidbut nothing about him seemed dangerous," said Crooks' schoolmate,17-year-old Liam Campbell.
"Just a normal person who seemed like he didn't like talking to people."
Since the incident, numerous witnesses have come forward and claimed that they informed theSecret Service officials and other local authorities about the presence of Crooks but no action was taken.
(With inputs from agencies)