Macomb County prosecutor reacts to assassination attempt on Trump
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – According to the FBI, the parents of Thomas Crooks continue to cooperate with investigators 48 hours after their 20-year-old son attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump Saturday during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
His father legally purchased the gun that the would-be assassin used.
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido says the question of liability comes down to this:
"Did Dad know that by buying this weapon, it was going to be used for this? Did Dad have any indication that his son may have had mental illness and/or episodes of when he doesn't take his medication? He may be unstable if he even took medication." Lucido said.
Law enforcement has pointed out that Crooks didn't have much of a digital footprint, so interviews with his friends and family who may have facilitated or known about the weapon will be key.
"This young man, he's really an expert with computers, and so there's every reality that he has secreted his information, his ideation, in a way, that's going to make it very challenging," said Mary Ellen O'Toole, a former senior FBI profiler and special agent.
Unlike Michigan, Pennsylvania doesn't have extreme-risk laws that allow loved ones or law enforcement to remove firearms from someone in crisis.
"Although you may have made a red flag law to put people on notice to take away a weapon when they may be unstable. There's no duty to even report it. And that kind of concerns me also, because making a report may alienate somebody. But making a report may save somebody's life," Lucido said.
As the investigation continues, Lucido joins other voices calling for peace during this election season.
"I think that we all need to be at least calm as best we can. I understand that there are high tensions always brewing. But in this case here, is it worth sacrificing life?" Lucido said.
Whether or not criminal charges are ever filed against the shooter's parents, there's always the possibility of a civil case coming about in what the FBI is now investigating as a possible act of domestic terrorism.