It has been five days since a 20-year-old man attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Investigators are still trying to uncover a motive behind the rally shooting, which left Trump and two other people injured and one person dead.
A source familiar with the matter said that the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, wrote on the popular gaming platform Steam, “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.”
Meanwhile, the Secret Service is under intense scrutiny as the gunman was able to scale a rooftop and gain access to a clear sightline to Trump during the rally. A group of GOP senators chased US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle across the floor of the Republican National Convention Wednesday night, shouting that she has refused to answer questions regarding the attempted assassination.
Crooks lived in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, about 35 miles south of the Trump rally. The gun Crooks used in the shooting was an AR-style weapon, according to the FBI. Pictures of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on the would-be assassin’s phone, according to three US officials.The search history of Crooks’ devices included the date of the Democratic National Convention and Trump events, the sources said. The officials said that investigators aren’t sure what significance the searches hold.
The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has opened a probe into the Secret Service’s decision-making. The House will establish a “task force,” Speaker Mike Johnson said. In her first public statement since the assassination attempt, the Secret Service director said on Monday that the agency will “participate fully” in an independent review ordered by President Joe Biden and also said the agency will work with Congress on “any oversight action.”
Trump will formally accept the GOP nomination for president tonight and will address the convention, where he has appeared with a bandage on his wounded ear this week.
