FBI Releases Photos of Firearms and Explosives Belonging to the Gunman Who Shot Trump

The FBI is still looking into the precise motivation of 20-year-old assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump. On Wednesday, the agency unveiled four fresh images of firearms, a rucksack, and the explosives the gunman carried in his car during the event, CNN reported. Crooks' rifle, which was found at the scene of the shooting, can be seen in the first picture. The weapon is an AR-style rifle manufactured by DPMS Panther Arms, that came with an optical sight mounted on the rail and an extendable rear stock.

According to CBS News, the second image featured a dismantled rifle next to a rucksack. Last month, FBI Director Chris Wray informed House lawmakers that Crooks' gun included a collapsible stock, which may have contributed to the fact that rallygoers failed to witness him carrying it. Two improvised explosive devices found in Crooks' car trunk are depicted in the third photo, which the Allegheny County Police Department captured. The agency also earlier disclosed that the receiver that would have enabled the gunman to explode the device remotely was disabled and the "devices had several problems in the way they were constructed." 

In total, three "relatively crude" devices were found according to Wray's testimony before Congress— two in Crooks' car and one at his house. The air conditioner that authorities claim Crooks used to access the roof of the AGR building is depicted in the fourth and final photo. The FBI claimed that the picture was obtained during a tour of the rally site in the days following the assassination attempt and is not evidence. According to the authorities, Crooks scaled the white unit on the picture's far right side.

Crooks was a member of the Clairton Sportsmen's Club, a nearby shooting club for at least one year. It features several shooting ranges, one of which is a high-facility rifle range with targets as far away as 171 meters. “The club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence,” attorney Robert S Bootay III, the organization's representative, told BBC. According to USA Today, the AR-15-style rifle used during the assassination was purchased legally by the perpetrator's father. Although the Crooks family has a minimal social media presence, some of their online activities link them to virtual gun marketplaces.  

The gunman's father purchased arms from Botach in 2020. As per the website, Botach is one of the top sellers of tactical supplies for home defense, police enforcement, and the military. According to Megan Squire, deputy director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who showed an excerpt of the purchase, the data was stolen from Eye4Fraud.com which checks online purchases for any fraudulent behavior on behalf of e-commerce merchants. 

"We located many firearms associated with the shooter and his family," Wray stated to the House Judiciary Committee."I think it was a total of 14 in the house." "We believe, based on what we’ve seen, that his father, after purchasing the gun, legally sold the gun to his son." According to Fox News, Wray described Crooks as a "fairly avid shooting enthusiast."