FBI Discovers Crooks Purchased Guns and Bomb Materials in 2023

FBI officials disclosed during a conference call with journalists that the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump had been acquiring firearms and bomb-making materials for more than a year, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

This new revelation suggests premeditation behind the shooting incident that occurred at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

According to FBI special agent Kevin Rojek, Thomas Matthew Crooks, aged 20, engaged in 25 online gun-related transactions from spring 2023 to mid-2024 and made six purchases of explosive materials. Additionally, Crooks researched power plants, mass shootings, improvised explosive devices, and the attempted assassination of Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico.

“While the FBI’s investigation may not have yet determined a motive, we believe the subject made significant efforts to conceal his activities,” Rojek stated. “Additionally, we believe his actions can also show careful planning ahead of the campaign rally.”

Under an alias, Crooks bought chemicals and gun equipment, storing them at his parents’ home in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, near the rally site.

“The parents have said in their interviews that they had no advanced knowledge of any of this,” Rojek mentioned, emphasizing their cooperation with the investigation.

Various investigations are ongoing to ascertain how Crooks managed to fire from a building rooftop about 400 feet from where Trump was speaking, resulting in the death of one spectator and critical injuries to two others, in addition to injuring the former president. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper team.

The FBI has conducted over 450 interviews, including with Crooks’ co-workers, family, and former classmates, in an effort to understand his motives. Crooks was described as a highly intelligent loner with limited social interactions, working at a nursing home with a growing interest in firearms that led to formal training courses.

Registered for Trump’s rally in Butler on July 6, Crooks began planning his attack by conducting surveillance at the rally site and accessing his firing position on the day of the shooting by climbing HVAC equipment and a pipe.

Investigators found two homemade bombs in Crooks’ car near the rally site, designed for remote detonation with ammunition boxes filled with explosives, wires, receivers, and ignition devices. The bombs were capable of exploding but were in the off position.