The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is being probed by the FBI as “potential domestic terrorism,” the bureau revealed Sunday as it announced investigators will examine the shooter’s cell phone in their quest to find a motive in the attack.
The bureau shared the development in a Sunday statement in which the feds stressed that it appears 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks acted alone but they’re investigating “if there were any co-conspirators associated” with the Saturday attack at the Butler Farm Show grounds.
“The FBI is investigating the shooting incident at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which resulted in one victim’s death and injuries to former President Trump and other spectators, as an assassination attempt and potential domestic terrorism,” the bureau said in the statement.
Investigators are also trying to figure out a motive for the shooting that shocked the world.
“We are working to determine the sequence of events and the shooter’s movements prior to the shooting, collecting and reviewing evidence, conducting interviews, and following up on all leads. We have also obtained the shooter’s telephone for examination,” the FBI statement continued.
Crooks was killed by the Secret Service after opening fire at the rally as he was perched on the rooftop of a factory located roughly 130 yards from the stage where Trump was delivering his speech.
Former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed by the gunfire, while Trump was struck in the ear.
Two other rallygoers were also critically wounded.
Crooks has been described by former high school classmates as a loner who was “relentlessly” bullied.
Investigators later found explosive devices in Crooks’ car, which was parked not far from the grounds where the rally took place.