The FBI revealed on Monday the gunman behind former President Donald Trump’s attempted assassination made 25 gun-related purchases online and bought explosive materials six times.
Thomas Crooks, 20, expressed an interest in “science” and “doing experiments,” Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office, told reporters in a call on Monday.
“For that reason, [his family] wasn’t concerned that [the packages] were focused on committing an attack of this nature of harming other people,” Mr. Rojek said, adding that his parents have said in their interviews that they had no prior knowledge of the attack on the former president. He didn’t do anything inside his family’s house that would raise his parents’ suspicions.
“We believe the subject made significant efforts to conceal his activities. Additionally, we believe his actions also show a careful planning ahead of the campaign rally,” Mr. Rojek said, further describing the shooter as a “loner” who was also “highly intelligent.”
The bureau previously revealed that the shooter had also researched the assassination of John F. Kennedy by conducting the search, “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?” prior to the attack, referring to assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
The gunman’s internet searches demonstrate his “careful planning” of the attack on the former president, according to the FBI.
The FBI also revealed former President Donald Trump has agreed to be interviewed by federal agents following his attempted assassination earlier this month, according to officials on Monday.
The anticipated interview comes as new details emerge about the gunman behind the July 13 shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“We want to get his perspective on what he observed,” Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said during a call with reporters. “It is a standard victim interview like we would do for any other victim of crime, under any other circumstances.”
The interview would be among 450 interviews the bureau has already conducted. The FBI has questioned law enforcement personnel, event attendees, and other witnesses as part of its probe into the shooting.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear.
After speculation swirled over how former President Trump was injured, the FBI recently confirmed he was hit by a bullet or bullet fragment.
“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the agency said in a statement.
Former President Trump responded to the FBI’s confirmation he was hit by a bullet in a social media post, saying that he assumes that’s the “best apology” from Director Christopher Wray, but he fully accepts it. He was referring to previous testimony by the agency’s director in which he told lawmakers that it was unclear whether a bullet or shrapnel hit the former president’s ear.
Former FBI Director Kimberly Cheatle also testified at a House hearing on July 22.
“The assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13 is the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades,” she testified.
Ms. Cheatle resigned from her post the following day.
The attempted assassination has prompted several Congressional probes and calls for a bipartisan task force.
In addition to former President Trump, two others were wounded in the shooting while another attendee was killed.