The gunman who attempted to assassinate presidential hopeful Donald Trump bought 50 rounds of ammunition just hours before he opened fire at the Pennsylvania rally.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, visited a local gun store to stock up before the shooting that shocked the world , a senior law enforcement source told CNN on Monday.
He was a nursing-home employee from suburban Pittsburgh who tried to shoot Trump and a registered Republican who packed explosives in the vehicle he drove to the campaign rally an hour from his home.
Authorities said it was attempted assassination but haven’t determined what motivated Crooks to try to kill Trump.
READ MORE: Donald Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was 'loner' who was 'bullied' for wearing hunting clothes
Law enforcement officials were working Sunday to learn more about the young man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to determine what motivated him.
The FBI has not yet identified any underlying ideology or threatening writing or social media posts from Crooks, who had no past criminal cases against him, according to public court records. The FBI believes Crooks acted alone and the shooting was being investigated as a potential act of domestic terrorism.
The U.S. Secret Service is investigating how the gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get on a nearby roof and shoot and injure the former president at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania.
The gunman, who officials said was killed by Secret Service personnel, fired multiple shots at the stage from an “elevated position outside of the rally venue,” the agency said. Trump was bloodied and says he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” A spectator was killed.
The shooter was able to get astonishingly close to the stage where the former president was speaking in a glaring security breach.
The roof was fewer than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was speaking. Biden has directed an independent review of the security at the rally.
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Sunday said the man killed at the Trump rally, Corey Comperatore, “dove on his family to protect them.”
“Corey died a hero,” the governor said. Comperatore, 50, was a former fire chief.
Pennsylvania State Police identified two other men who were shot as David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township. Both men remained hospitalized and were listed in stable condition, state police said.
In a prime-time national address, the president said Sunday that political passions can run high but “we must never descend into violence.”
“We can do this,” Biden implored, saying the nation was founded on a democracy that gave reason and balance a chance to prevail over brute force.
“American democracy — where arguments are made in good faith. American democracy where the rule of law is respected. Where decency, dignity, fair play aren’t just quaint notions, they’re living, breathing realities.”
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