19 minutes lost: Police failed to track shooter at Trump rally

Thomas Matthew Crooks visited the site of Donald Trump’s rally twice, his cellphone contained images of Trump and President Joe Biden, and the alleged killer’s search history included dates for the Democratic National Convention as well as upcoming Trump events, three US officials told CNN.

The new details have revealed more about what Crooks was doing in the days and hours leading up to his assassination attempt on the former president. But investigators combing Crooks’ physical and digital trail still need the key detail that would explain why the 20-year-old climbed onto a rooftop in Butler, Pennsylvania, with a rifle: a motive.

Crooks also conducted online research on major depressive disorder, administration officials told Congress during meetings Wednesday (17).

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, FBI Director Chris Wray and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate briefed the House and Senate by phone Wednesday on what law enforcement officials have learned so far about the shooting at the Trump rally.

Authorities said there is no clear motive for the attempted murder, lawmakers said. Abbate said in the briefings that the department found no political or ideological information about the suspect at the shooter’s home.

Congressmen on the calls told CNN that Secret Service and FBI officials have provided new details about Crooks’ mental state and actions before he shot Trump on Saturday (13), although many expressed dissatisfaction with what they were told to explain how Crooks was able to fire multiple shots at Trump.

Two sources on the call also said that informants told lawmakers that the shooter visited the rally site twice after the Butler rally was announced, including on the day of the attack. Based on cellphone data, it was estimated that the shooter was at the scene for 70 minutes.

Police sources briefed on the investigation told CNN that in addition to photos of Trump and Biden, the shooter’s phone also contained photos of congressional leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

There were also photos of other politicians from across the political spectrum, including Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former lawyer involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who is prosecuting Trump and Giuliani.

Almost all of the photos appeared to have been downloaded from the internet and were not accompanied by threatening language or messages, sources briefed on the investigation told CNN that the phone also showed searches for dates and locations of Trump rallies and information about the two political conventions.

U.S. officials said the significance of the photos, as well as the searches of Trump’s conventions and events, was unclear.

Wray announced at the briefings that the FBI has conducted more than 200 interviews so far and vowed to leave “no stone unturned” in the investigation, one lawmaker said.

At the beginning of this Thursday (18), the CNN citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that Crooks posted: “July 13th will be my debut, watch how it plays out.” The FBI told senators on Wednesday that it believed the account actually belonged to Crooks, the source familiar with the briefing said.

However, a US official briefed on the matter later told CNN that investigators believe the account in his name is fake.

When was Crooks spotted and where

Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, wrote on social media that law enforcement officials “identified the shooter as a ‘suspect’ 19 minutes before the shooting.”

A source told CNN that about 19 minutes before the attack, authorities were trying to locate the shooter but were unable to find him until he was on the roof.

Police responded to a call of a “suspicious male” around the same time Trump arrived for his Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, according to Butler Town Manager Tom Knights.

Knights said in a statement Wednesday that the suspect’s report said he was near the AGR building where Trump’s would-be assassin ultimately launched his attack.

From the roof of the building, which was about 500 feet north of the rally stage, Crooks fired multiple shots at Trump, grazing his ear and striking several rallygoers, including one who was killed. Secret Service agents killed Crooks after he opened fire.

Officers initially did not locate the person around the building, according to Knights’ statement. He said an officer attempted to access the roof with the help of a fellow officer who tried to hoist him up. The officer who climbed the side of the building saw an individual on the roof pointing a rifle at him, Knights said.

“The officer was in a defenseless position and there was no way he could attack the actor while he was holding onto the edge of the roof. The officer let go and fell to the ground,” Knights said.

Butler police “immediately” communicated the individual’s location and shared that he had a gun, but “moments later, the individual began shooting,” according to the release.