The FBI investigation into the attempted assassination of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on July 13 continues.
Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said in a statement that the attacker was spotted by police more than an hour before the assassination attempt.
Rojek said local police officers had taken a photograph of the attacker, Thomas Crooks, and that “the shooter has been identified as a suspicious person by law enforcement.”
Officers sent the photos to other law enforcement agencies, and about 30 minutes later, SWAT teams found the scammers using a rangefinder to browse news sites, Rojek said.
The attacker was captured on police vehicle camera.
Rojek said Crooks was seen carrying a backpack at about 17:56 local time, 20 minutes before the attack, and was seen on police vehicle camera walking across the roof when the gunman opened fire at 18:08 local time.
Trump to testify to FBI
Rojek said Trump, who has criticized the FBI, has agreed to participate in a standard victim interview that would be “consistent with any victim interview that is conducted,” and “we want to know Mr. Trump’s perspective.”
The FBI described Crooks as a loner with no close friends or acquaintances and whose social interactions were limited primarily to immediate family.The FBI said the con artists used encrypted applications to make 25 firearms-related purchases and six purchases of chemicals used to make explosives.
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Trump assassination attempt
Trump was attacked and injured in his right ear while speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. The attack left one rally-goer dead and two injured, and the US Secret Service killed the attacker, 20-year-old Crooks, at the scene.
