A remote detonator was discovered on the body of would-be Donald Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks , along with his mobile phone, after he was fatally shot by Secret Service snipers.
Crooks opened fire at the rally in Pennsylvania killing a Trump supporter and grazing the Republican's ear. An image initially published by Pittsburgh's WPXI revealed the detonator, a rectangular gray device resembling a TV remote control, next to the gunman's mobile phone.
Earlier reports indicated that FBI agents investigating the case found explosive materials, ammunition and a bulletproof vest inside the 20 year old's car. CNN has reported that the bombs were linked to the detonator.
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After three days, an enigmatic portrait emerged of the 20-year-old gunman but a motive is still elusive. Crooks has been described by those who knew him as an intelligent loner with few friends, with an apparently thin social media footprint and no hints of strong political beliefs that would suggest a motive for an attempted assassination.
Even after the FBI cracked into Crooks’ cellphone, scoured his computer, home and car, and interviewed more than 100 people, the mystery of why he opened fire on Trump’s rally Saturday, a bullet grazing the GOP nominee’s ear, remained as elusive as the moment it happened.
“He sat by himself, didn’t talk to anyone, didn’t even try to make conversation,” said 17-year-old Liam Campbell, echoing the comments of classmates who remembered the shooter in this quiet community outside of Pittsburgh. “He was an odd kid,” but nothing about him seemed dangerous, he added. “Just a normal person who seemed like he didn’t like talking to people.”
So far, there has been no public disclosure the shooter left any writings, suicide note, social media screed or any other indicator explaining his reasons for targeting Trump. A law enforcement official briefed on the ongoing investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Crooks’ phone had not immediately yielded any meaningful clues related to motive, or whether he acted alone or with others.
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Crooks’ political leanings were also hazy. Crooks was registered as a Republican in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day Democratic President Joe Biden was sworn into office.
The absence of a satisfactory explanation has led Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to recount the lengthy federal investigation into the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, the deadliest such attack in the nation’s history. That probe closed after 17 months without finding any motive for what drove the 64-year-old gunman to spray more than 1,000 rounds into a crowd of concertgoers other than to “attain a certain degree of infamy.”
Crooks, with a slight build, wire-rimmed glasses and thin hair parted in the middle, went by “Tom.” He was described by classmates at Bethel Park High School as smart but standoffish, often seen wearing headphones and preferring to sit alone at lunch looking at his phone. Some said he was often mocked by other students for the clothes he wore, which included hunting outfits, and for continuing to wear a mask after the COVID pandemic was over.
“He was bullied almost every day,” said classmate Jason Kohler. “He was just an outcast.”
After graduating from high school in 2022, Crooks went on to the Community College of Allegheny County, earning an associate’s degree with honors in engineering science in May. He also worked at a nursing home as a dietary aide.
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