According to sources familiar with the matter, suspect Thomas Crooks, who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, researched high school shooter Ethan Crumbly before plotting to kill the former president.
Ethan Crumbly, now 18, is serving life in prison without parole for killing four students, all of whom were 15 at the time, and wounding seven others at Oxford High School in Michigan in November 2021.
Sources told Fox News Digital that Crooks had researched Crumbly before carrying out the assassination attempt at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
Following Crumbley’s historic conviction, his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were also convicted of manslaughter.
Trump shooter Thomas Crooks’ online search history included “depression,” Trump, Biden and the Democratic National Convention
An undated file photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks in a yearbook photo. Crooks is the alleged gunman behind the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Source: Fox News Digital)
Prosecutors argued that the couple did not properly care for their guns or their home and did not give their son the help he needed before the shooting. The parents even went so far as to visit administrators at Oxford High School to discuss a disturbing drawing their son had made on a glass the morning of the fatal shooting.
Crooks’ other internet search history included photos of Trump and Biden, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and “severe depression.” The New York Times previously.
200 FBI interviews and a search of 14,000 images turned up…nothing?
Ethan Robert Crumbley, 15, the suspect charged with first-degree murder in the high school shooting, poses for his jail release photo at the Oakland County Jail in Pontiac, Michigan. (Oakland County Sheriff)
According to the New York Times, investigators learned of Crooks’ search history after decoding his phone.
FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed the findings of his agents at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, saying the bureau conducted 200 interviews and reviewed 14,000 images stored on Crooks’ phone.
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Drone footage shows the home of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was named by the FBI as a “person of interest” in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on July 15, 2024. (Reuters/Carlos Osorio)
Federal authorities are still investigating Crooks’ motive for the attempted assassination of the former president, which left former Buffalo Township Fire Chief Corey Comperatore, 50, dead and two others, David “Jake” Duch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, in critical but stable condition.
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Ray reportedly said Crooks had visited the rally site at least once before Saturday’s shooting.
Fox News’ Chris Eberhart contributed to this report.
