Trump assassination attempt: FBI says gunman's family not alarmed by chemical purchases prior to shooting
FBI says Trump shooter searched JFK assassination
A search of a laptop linked to the 20-year-old gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Trump earlier this month revealed he had searched for information on John F. Kennedy's assassination before the shooting, FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on Wednesday.
The FBI told reporters on Monday that would-be presidential assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks had a long-standing "interest in science" and "experiments," and as a result, his family "wasn't concerned" about the myriad packages he was receiving at their house.
Crooks, 20, made 25 gun-related purchases online between spring 2023 and the first half of this year and bought materials used to make explosives six times, all with aliases, according to the agency. On July 13, he opened fire at a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, injuring the former president and two others while killing firefighter Corey Comperatore.
"The shooter had a long interest in science and things like this and had been doing experiments and things like that over a period of time," said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh Field Office. "For that reason, [his family] wasn't concerned that [the packages] were focused on committing an attack of this nature of harming other people."
"Anything he was doing was online," Rojek said. "He wasn't hoarding ammunition. He wasn't doing anything that I would say would significantly raise the suspicion of his parents in his home."
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FILE - Street sign is seen as the house of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter who attempted to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump is cornered off with crime scene tape and guarded by law enforcement, investigators are
Rojek said that "the parents have been extremely cooperative from the first night we approached them."
"The parents have said in their interviews that they had no advanced knowledge of any of this. We do find that to be credible at this stage but pending additional investigation," Rojek said. "Again, we're not ruling any possibility out as far as what was in the home."
The agency's revelations come as Crooks' father, Matthew Crooks, was spotted on Monday leaving a Pittsburgh office building containing two law firms. He declined to answer reporters' questions about whether his family spotted warning signs before their son attempted to take the former president's life.
FILE - Matthew Crooks waits outside an office building where two law firms are located in Pittsburgh on July 29, 2024. He is the father of would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks. (Credit: DWS for Fox News Digita)
The FBI said Crooks' "primary social circle [was] his family."
"We have identified only a couple people who we would call his friends, and most of those contacts were in fact dated," Rojek said.
"Even his gaming platforms, we see very little interaction with other individuals, which is obviously outside the norm with what you normally see, particularly in gamers. To date, we have not found anyone that is really close to him in any type of social circle."
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FILE - Matthew Crooks leaves an office building in Pittsburgh on July 29, 2024. He declined to answer questions about whether his family saw warning signs before his son, Thomas Crooks, tried to assassinate former President Trump. (Credit: DWS for Fo
Rojek said the agency's behavioral analysis experts believe Crooks was "highly intelligent," attending college and maintaining steady employment.
"We do still believe that he was a loner as far as his association or any other activities related to his mental state."
FBI agents said Crooks never sought professional help and was not prescribed medication.
They are continuing to assess Crooks' social media accounts from different devices.
Crooks had made online searches related to power plants, mass shooting events, information on improvised explosive devices, U.S. elected officials and the attempted assassination of the Slovakian prime minister earlier this year, agents said.