Trump would-be assassin made dozens of bomb, gun-related purchases in year before rally shooting: FBI

FBI officials revealed on Monday that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a rally earlier in July, began stocking up on bomb-making materials and purchasing gun-related items over a year prior to the Butler rally shooting.

Crooks made 25 different online purchases of gun-related items between spring 2023 and the first half of 2024, the officials said, and bought material used in explosives a total of six times, according to the Wall Street Journal.



Kevin Rojek, the FBI special agent in charge in Pittsburgh, said that Crooks had searched online for information related to mass shooting events, power plants, improvised explosive devices, and the assassination attempt on Slovakia’s prime minister.

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

The online purchases were made through an alias, and collected gun equipment and chemicals in the Bethel Park, Pennsylvania home he shared with his parents. Rojek said his parents weren’t alarmed because Crooks had long been interested in science and experiments.

“For that reason, they weren’t concerned that it was focused on committing an attack of this nature or harming other people. The parents have said in their interviews that they had no advanced knowledge of any of this,” Rojek said. He noted that the gunman’s parents have been credible and cooperative.

The FBI has interviewed over 450 people in its investigation into how Crooks was able to open fire from the rooftop on a nearby building, injuring Trump and two other rally attendees and killing another. Among those interviewed were dozens of Crooks’ former classmates, co-workers, and family members.

Trump has also agreed to sit for an interview with the FBI as part of their investigation.

"We want to get his perspective on what he observed, just like any other witness to the crime," Rojek said. "It is a standard victim interview like we would do for any other victim of crime."

The FBI has pieced together a picture in its study of Crooks, showing a highly intelligent loner who had attended college and held a steady job at a nursing home. His primary social circle was limited to immediate family members. A motive has not been revealed. In its investigation of Crooks’ online accounts, the FBI has requested information from 86 companies, officials said, though it appeared that Crooks had little interaction with others even virtually.