Bethel Park High School 2020 yearbook photo of Thomas Crooks. Picture: Gallo Images
Donald Trump’s would-be assassinator posted a chilling final message on social media, warning about his dark plans for the day of his deadly attack.
“July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds,” wrote Thomas Matthew Crooks on the online gamer platform Steam, according to Fox News.
The ominous message was disclosed to Senate and House lawmakers on Wednesday during a briefing with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials, as authorities continue to uncover details about the 20-year-old gunman and his activities leading up to the shooting.
“Steam” is a popular platform where tens of millions of gamers buy games and communicate. The discovery emerged as investigators continued to examine Crooks’ technological devices, including his cell phones and laptop.
On Saturday, Crooks went to the site of Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, armed with an AR-15 rifle legally purchased by his father, reports The Independent.
After scaling the roof of a building just outside the security perimeter, approximately 140 meters from the podium where the Republican presidential candidate was speaking, Crooks opened fire.
Trump was struck in the ear before ducking behind the podium and being rushed by Secret Service agents, who shielded him with their bodies.
Three rallygoers were also shot, one fatally.
Crooks had been researching both United States former president Trump and President Joe Biden online before the attack. He had pictures of both political rivals on his phone. He also searched online for a member of the British royal family, the FBI officials revealed in the briefing.
Crooks, who was shot dead seconds after firing at the former president, had two cellphones — a primary device recovered near his body and a secondary one at his home that had just 27 contacts.
Details of his search history were released as news broke that 20 minutes passed between the time that Secret Service snipers first spotted Crooks perched on a roof with a rifle and the time he began firing at the former president, according to the New York Post.
The shocking 20-minute time gap was confirmed by The Post’s sources, who added that at one point, Crooks was reportedly peering through his rangefinder at the snipers who were looking back at him.
In fact, Crooks was identified as a person of interest over an hour before the shooting, sources told The Post.
After he fired his first shot, snipers killed him within 26 seconds.
Despite uncovering new information about the gunman through searches of his cell phones and the home he shared with his parents, investigators remain stumped by one major question: his motive.
One possible line of investigation is focusing on the gunman’s mental health. Lawmakers have confirmed that he had searched for “major depressive disorder” on one of his cell phones.
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