The FBI investigating the shooting of Donald Trump is still in the dark as to why the suspect, 20-year-old nursing aide Thomas Matthew Crooks targetted the former President. Crooks, who came inches close to killing Trump, was widely known as a 'bright but quiet' person who is apolitical.
As per reports, Crooks lived in an upper-middle-class suburb about an hour’s drive from where the Trump rally was held. He worked as a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and did not have a criminal history.
"We are shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement as Thomas Matthew Crooks performed his job without concern and his background check was clean," Marcie Grimm, administrator of the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre told Reuters.
The FBI, which checked Crooks' social media profile, did not find any threatening language either. Officials were also interviewing friends and family and looking at his online history as well as any writing left behind.
One law enforcement official said investigators were looking at Crooks’ posts on Discord, a popular application for sharing messages and interacting with others. The officials are yet to discover any history of mental health issues.
He graduated from a local high school two years ago and was known to show interest in building computers and playing games, the classmate said in an interview. "He was super smart. That's what really kind of threw me off was, this was, like, a really, really smart kid, like he excelled," the classmate told Reuters.
Amid rumours about bullying in school, the school counsellor said he found Crooks as someone who was content to occasionally eat lunch by himself in the school cafeteria. "Kids weren't calling him names, kids weren't bullying him," Knapp said. The counsellor described him as "respectful" and said he never knew Crooks to be political. He also couldn't recall Crooks ever being disciplined in school." Anybody could snap, anybody could have issues," he said. "Something triggered that young man and drove him to drive up to Butler yesterday and do what he did."
Pittsburgh FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek said they are yet to identify the motive though the probe was in full swing. "The highest priority is being placed on determining motive because the bureau is also looking at the shooting as a "potential domestic terrorism act," Robert Wells, the FBI’s assistant director of the Counterterrorism Division told ABC News.
The FBI believes he acted alone but what's threatening about this incident is how close he got to Trump. "At present, we have not identified an ideology associated with the subject, but I want to remind everyone that we're still very early in this investigation," Rojek added.
Meanwhile, the AR-style rifle by Crooks’ body reportedly belonged to his father, who legally acquired it. Authorities reported finding explosives — including an IED, or improvised explosive device — inside a car driven by Crooks that was located near the Trump rally. Additionally, materials for making bombs were found inside Crooks’ home, The Associated Press reported.
