Shooter in Trump assassination attempt researched Oxford High School shooter before attack, feds say
(CBS DETROIT) — The man who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump searched online for information on the arrest of the Oxford High School shooter and his parents, FBI and US Secret Service officials shared in a Wednesday briefing with lawmakers and by additional people familiar with the investigation.
The previously unreported readout documents the scope of the investigation, including an expanded timeline of Thomas Matthew Crooks' actions leading to his assault and law enforcement's failure to prevent it. Investigators remain puzzled about possible motives for Saturday's incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, finding little to point to political or ideological intentions for the attack.
Crooks' recent trail on the internet has provided investigators with a detailed picture of his possible mindset before the attack. FBI behavioral experts are building a profile of Crooks based on the findings, the FBI told lawmakers.
On his primary cellphone, investigators found an image of the arrest photo of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, who was sentenced to life in prison for killing four students and injuring six others and a teacher in 2021. Federal officials said Crooks researched information about the now 18-year-old and his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, who were both found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
The case received national attention because it was the first time parents of a school shooter have been prosecuted.
The Crumbleys, who were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison, were accused of not getting their son the necessary help for his mental health needs and failure to keep the gun used in the shooting safely stored away.
Experts told CBS News that investigators would need to determine if Crooks' parents knew about their son's intentions and when exactly they knew about it before considering if they should be held liable. On the day of the rally, his parents attempted to reach out to Crooks to find him. He didn't respond.
Investigators have focused on Crooks' online activity in the months and days before the attack. Family members and people he worked with described him as quiet and a loner but haven't indicated that he showed any signs of planning an attack. In April, he searched websites for information on major depressive disorder and depressive crisis treatment.
A week before the shooting, Crooks searched online for the date of the Democratic National Convention and where Trump planned to speak, as well as other searches for Trump and President Biden.
Investigators recovered rudimentary explosive devices from his car, along with a bullet-proof vest, additional magazines of the type he used in the attack and a drone, according to the officials who briefed lawmakers Wednesday. At the family home, they also recovered 14 firearms and additional explosives, along with a second cellphone, a laptop and a hard drive.
Three days after the Trump campaign announced the rally in Butler, a western Pennsylvania town about an hour from Crook's home, Crooks made numerous searches online for well-known political figures and political events. He searched for the date and location of the Democratic National Convention, which takes place in August in Chicago, and for the location of the Trump rally. He also searched for information on Trump, Biden and other major political figures.
On the day of the rally, Crooks made several internet searches, including for photos of the location of Trump's speech and for a local gun store not far from his home, where he purchased bullets that day. In the minutes before he fired shots, he screenshotted a picture from a livestream of the event.
Investigators have found data showing that Crooks had visited the rally location a week before it was to be held. On the morning of the rally, he visited the farm where the rally was to be held for over an hour. He then went home, and investigators believe he retrieved an AR-15 rifle owned by his father. Crooks' father told investigators that he saw his son leave the home with the rifle and believed he was going to a shooting range that the two had frequented.