FBI Investigates Trump Shooter But Comes Away With More Questions

(NationalUSNews.com) — Following a gunman’s failed attempt to kill former President Donald Trump during a political rally in Pennsylvania, the FBI has started investigating the incident and the man responsible.

Federal authorities have identified the would-be murderer as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Crooks used a rifle that federal authorities described as “AR-style,” which they believed Crooks’s father legally purchased. The shooting immediately prompted mainstream media attention on Trump and renewed calls for supporters of Trump and President Joe Biden to ease the increasingly hostile political rhetoric.

The failed assassination attempt occurred on July 13th, when Trump attended a small political rally in Butler Farm, approximately 30 miles from Pittsburgh. Trump only spoke for a few minutes before he started talking to his supporters about illegal immigration, when Crooks interrupted the rally by opening fire at Trump from a nearby roof. Crooks grazed Trump’s ear during the shooting and killed one of the rally’s attendees in the crossfire. Despite firing several shots at Trump, Crooks failed to kill the former president, and authorities killed Crooks shortly after the shooting began.

Federal authorities and the United States Secret Service immediately began an investigation into Crooks to determine the shooter’s motive but haven’t uncovered any information about why the 20-year-old gunman wanted to kill Trump. FBI officials confirmed that Crooks registered as a Republican and didn’t have a criminal record or history of violent behavior. Crooks’s neighbors also claim that they didn’t think of the failed assassin as a violent person, citing his work as a nursing home assistant and his “quiet” nature.

Federal investigators have started looking into Crooks’s personal belongings, including his phone and social media presence, for a potential motive. Crooks didn’t share any plans with his friends or relatives before the shooting, nor did he express an intent to kill Trump on social media. FBI investigators did find a suspicious device in Crooks’s car after the shooting, along with a similar device at his residence, which they believe could be an explosive.

The failed assassination attempt has renewed calls for gun control from liberal lawmakers, with many claiming that if Crooks had shot just an inch to his right, Trump would’ve died on live television. Trump himself has spoken about the incident, celebrating the Secret Service for blocking him during Crooks’s initial shots and ushering him off the stage. Trump also called for national unity following the shooting and spoke with President Biden about the ordeal during a private phone call.

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