Photo: Law enforcement block a street in Bethel Park, Pa., that they say is near a residence of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter of former President Donald Trump, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
FBI officials said on July 14 that they believe the would-be assassin of former President Donald Trump acted alone.
The agency is investigating the attack as both an attempted assassination and an act of domestic terrorism, officials told reporters in a call with news media.
The new details emerged less than 24 hours after the United States saw its first major assassination attempt of a president or presidential candidate since President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
Authorities have identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. At a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, the assailant fired several shots from an elevated position near the venue. Witnesses saw a man with a rifle on the rooftop of a nearby building.
Former President Donald Trump’s right ear was pierced by one of the bullets before he was rushed to his car by Secret Service agents. However, one of the attendees at the rally, 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore, was killed. Two other rally attendees—identified by Pennsylvania State Police as David Dutch and James Copenhaver—were injured.
Both of the injured attendees are in stable condition, according to Pennsylvania State Police, which did not provide further details on their injuries. A GoFundMe effort established by the Trump campaign for the victims and their families had raised more than $3 million as of the evening of July 14.
FBI Investigation
The FBI has not yet identified a motive. The assailant’s family is cooperating in the investigation, officials said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland called the assassination attempt on the former president “an attack on our democracy itself.”
“[The Justice Department has] no tolerance for such violence, and as Americans we must have no tolerance for it,” Mr. Garland told reporters. “This must stop.”
The agency said a “suspicious device” was located during a sweep of Mr. Crooks’s car. It was later diffused by bomb technicians.
FBI Director Christopher Wray vowed that his agency would “leave no stone unturned” in its investigation of the attack.
“An attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate can only be described as absolutely despicable and will not be tolerated in this country,” Mr. Wray told reporters.
Earlier on July 14, President Joe Biden said he asked that the investigation be “thorough and swift.”
Prior to the attack, officials said, the perpetrator wasn’t on the FBI’s radar as a potential threat.
The FBI’s screening of the shooter’s social media presence has so far revealed no ideology or political beliefs that could have been his basis for the attack, officials said.
The FBI has received more than 2,000 tips so far, they said.
Officials believe that the rifle used in the attack was a semi-automatic rifle similar to an AR-15.
Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office, told reporters that the weapon belonged to the shooter’s father, who purchased it legally. It’s still unclear how Mr. Crooks got his hands on the rifle, or if his father was aware that he had taken it.
“These are facts that we’ll flesh out as we conduct interviews,” Mr. Rojek said.
Independent Review
President Biden said that he has directed an independent review of the security present at the rally.
Speaking from the White House, President Biden said the assassination attempt was “contrary to everything we stand for as a nation.”
“It’s not who we are as a nation, it’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen,” he said.
The president said that he had a “short but good conversation” with former President Trump on the evening of July 13.
Secret Service officials confirmed on July 14 that no changes have been made to security at the convention, which starts on July 15, noting that the event has already been given the highest-grade security.
“Currently, there are no known articulated threats against the RNC or anyone visiting the RNC,” Michael Hensle, special agent in charge of the FBI for Wisconsin, said at a news conference.
“This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote in a Sunday post on X.
The former president made a call for unity, saying, “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans.”
“When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change,” Ms. Trump wrote.
She added that she was “grateful to the brave Secret Service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives.”
Over on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are vowing their own investigations into the matter.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Congress will probe if there were security lapses at the rally.
A DHS spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter. “DHS responds to congressional inquiries directly via official channels, and the Department will continue to respond appropriately to Congressional oversight,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.
2 thoughts on “FBI Believes Trump Shooter Acted Alone, Investigating Attack as Act of Domestic Terrorism – The Epoch Times”
Most Americans know we have a corrupt-manipulative Biden-Obama regime that has done every thing possible to destroy President Trump including rhetoric that Trump is a danger to our future. Clearly, this assassination attempt was media hyped by Biden and others. And we cannot trust the F.B.I. or a WOKE Secret Service to investigate this matter. The shooter was identified early enough to be taken out by a local policeman as well as the government sniper team. Only the election of a constitutional President Trump will lead to the truth of this horrendous provoked act. M A G A !
The shooting was not the fault of the 20 year old emotionally disturbed lost kid, it is the fault of the parents and the Secret Service. Both should be held responsible, especially the father who’s gun the kid used and for leaving it out where Crook could get it. No doubt the father even taught the kid how to shoot it. Shame on the parents, they should be hung!
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