Twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate former U.S. President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, hinted at the attack online days before the shooting.
Crooks posted a threatening message on the gaming platform Steam before the shooting on July 13, Fox News reported, citing officials who briefed US senators on July 17. The message read, “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.”
This report comes as US investigators examined Crooks’ electronic devices, including his cell phones and laptop, to determine his motive. Initial findings indicate that Crooks was an intelligent loner with few friends, a minimal social media footprint, and no clear political beliefs that might suggest a motive for the attempted assassination.
On his laptop, investigators found searches related to Trump, Biden, the Democratic National Convention (DNC), and the July 13 rally. Despite these searches, US officials reported that no specific political ideology was evident from the laptop and no one interviewed indicated that Crooks had discussed politics.
US authorities recovered two cell phones from Crooks—one at the scene of the shooting and another at his home, which contained only 27 contacts. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is in the process of interviewing these contacts. In another development, GOP lawmakers on Wednesday were informed that Trump’s would-be assassin was flagged as “suspicious” by the Secret Service up to an hour before he began shooting but was subsequently lost in the crowd.
READ MORE: Trump’s Would-Be Assassin Identified As Threat 1 Hour Before Attack But Was Lost In Crowd | WATCH
During closed briefings to both the House and Senate, US law enforcement officials, including those from the Secret Service, revealed new information about the security lapses and the gunman involved in the attack at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Wyoming Senator John Barrasso reported that the Secret Service had identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, who carried a rangefinder and a backpack, as suspicious more than an hour before the shooting.
The briefings also disclosed that Crooks had visited the Butler County fairgrounds, the site of the attack, at least once before and had searched for symptoms of depressive disorder on his phone. Earlier on Wednesday, US media reports said Crooks’ parents reported him missing to local police on the day of the attack, expressing concern for his well-being. However, it is unclear if they were aware that he had an AR-15 rifle, which belonged to his father. Police have not disclosed their response to the parents’ report.
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