Trump rally gunman flew drone to scope out event site

The gunman who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump flew a drone to obtain aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds shortly before the former president was set to speak there, according to law-enforcement officials briefed on the matter. 

Officials said Thomas Matthew Crooks flew the drone on a mapped-out flight route earlier on July 13 to examine the Butler Farm Show grounds ahead of Trump’s rally. The officials noted that the preprogrammed path suggests the 20-year-old flew the drone multiple times before the event to scope out the rally site.

Assailant stood on roof to carry out assassination attempt

From the roof of the American Glass Research building, Crooks fired at least six rounds roughly 400 feet away from where Trump spoke, killing one spectator, critically injuring two others, and reaching Trump with a graze wound to the ear. A Secret Service sniper shot back, killing Crooks, whose motive remains unknown. 

Several ongoing investigations are taking place to assess the incident. These investigations aim to find out how the gunman was able to climb onto a rooftop with a clear line of sight to Trump and open fire with an AR-15 rifle.

Suspicions raised before shooting

Over an hour before the shooting, the police had become suspicious of Crooks as they saw him circling the outskirts of the site with a range finder and a backpack. 

Crooks, described by friends as intelligent yet socially detached, began researching the site following July 3, when officials said the Trump campaign publicized the rally. Within days, the would-be assassin visited the rally site to scope it out.

Officials find homemade bombs in Crooks' vehicle

On July 13, officials said he revisited the site armed with a pair of homemade bombs that appeared to be controlled by remotes, as they were fitted with a receiver similar to the kind used to set off fireworks remotely. Investigators discovered explosives in Crooks’ car parked close to the grounds, along with a ballistic carrier, or vest, with three 30-round magazines in it, signaling that he may have intended to inflict a larger massacre. 

Recently, officials said that Crooks had obtained several packages marked “hazardous materials” in his home. He conducted online research regarding the dates of Trump rallies but also searched details about August’s Democratic convention and President Biden, revealing a convoluted stir of indicators for investigators to sort through.