Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man accused of plotting to assassinate Donald Trump, posted terrifying messages online that hinted at his sinister plans the day he went on a shooting spree at a rally for the former president in Butler, Pennsylvania over the weekend.
“July 13th is my premiere date, watch as it unfolds,” the 20-year-old gunman reportedly wrote on Steam, a popular online platform where gamers communicate with each other. Fox News reported.
The portentous message was revealed to U.S. senators during a briefing with top law enforcement officials on Wednesday.
Police sources told The Washington Post that Crooks, 20, also had photos of the Republican presidential candidate and President Biden on his phone and was searching for dates for the Democratic National Convention and Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania before shooting and killing the 45th president from a rooftop near the rally.
Investigators are examining the suspect’s cell phone and computer to uncover the truth behind the attempted assassination, but have not yet determined a motive.
An investigation into the shooter’s search history did not reveal which side of the political aisle Crooks, a Republican, was on, he said. First reported by ABC News discovery.
Crooks was shot dead seconds after firing at the former president, but he had two cell phones in his possession — one main one recovered near his body and a second one found in his home that had only 27 contacts, Fox News reported.
Details of his search history were made public after news broke that 20 minutes had passed between when a Secret Service sniper first spotted Crooks standing on a roof with a rifle and when he began firing at the former president.
The shooting killed a 50-year-old married man and father of two who was attending the rally, and injured two other attendees.
Several law enforcement sources and lawmakers briefed on the investigation told ABC a sniper spotted Crooks on a roof outside the secured area of the rally at 5.52pm, before shooting began at 6.12pm.
This shocking 20-minute time gap was confirmed by The Washington Post’s sources, who reportedly showed Crooks at one point staring back at the snipers who were staring back at him through their rangefinders.
In fact, sources told The Washington Post that Crooks had been identified as a suspect more than an hour before the shooting.
A sniper shot him dead just 26 seconds after he fired the first shot.
The delay will only add to the intense scrutiny the Secret Service has faced over its response to the assassination attempt.
