FBI yet to identify motive behind gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks’ attempted assassination of Trump during Pa. rally
Law enforcement officials admitted it was “surprising” how the gunman was able to get so many shots off in the attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump before he was taken out by Secret Service snipers.
During a press conference early Sunday, officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police deferred several questions about security to the Secret Service — who were notably absent.
When asked if he was surprised at the number of shots the gunman was able to take at a former president, Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said: “It is surprising but, to get all the details of that will come out later in the investigation.”
“The Secret Service really needs to answer that question,” he added, noting that they are in charge of securing the scene and the FBI were just there to support them.
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens attempted to offer a defense for the Secret Service over the security lapse that nearly caused Trump his life.
“In their defense, what I would want to say is it is incredibly difficult to have a venue open to the public and secure that against any possible threat against a determined attacker, that’s a huge lift to try and do it,” Bidens told reporters.
Not everyone is so sure there was little that could be done. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced that his panel will open an investigation into the shooting against former President Donald Trump and grill Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle about the massive security lapse.
A sniper, identified by Post sources as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, positioned himself on top of a building with an unobstructed view of the ex-president, some 130 yards away from the stage at the Butler County Fair Grounds.
Crooks opened fire while Trump was speaking, grazing the president’s ear, killing one rally-goer and seriously injuring another, police said.
Secret Service agents jumped into action and rushed a bleeding Trump off stage immediately after he was struck. Crooks was quickly taken out by Secret Service snipers, police said.
Authorities declined to identify Crooks at the press conference early Sunday.
The FBI has not yet identified a motive behind the shooting, officials said.
“We do not currently have an identified motive and our investigators are working tirelessly to attempt to identify what that motive was,” Rojek said.
Officials also said it was too early to say if the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was a “lone wolf’ situation.
“Too early to say that. We have one shooter tentatively identified. We’re not stopping there. We’re following up on a lot of information, it will be some time until we can conclusively say (it was a single gunman)” Bevins said.
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