The FBI announced it has successfully accessed the phone belonging to Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin who opened fire on former President Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
“FBI technical specialists successfully gained access to Thomas Matthew Crooks' phone and are continuing to analyze his electronic devices,” the agency wrote in a press release.
Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the situation told Fox News that the weapon Crooks used, a DPMS AR-15 5.56, is now at the FBI's forensic labs in Quantico, Virginia, along with his phone, laptop and at least one improvised explosive device from his car.
The FBI has completed a search of Crooks' home and vehicle. A little over a dozen weapons were found in the home. Crooks' family continues to cooperate with the FBI, Fox News confirmed.
Assassination attempt on Trump at Pennsylvania rally leaves two injured and two dead, including the shooter
The FBI has managed to access the phone of Thomas Matthew Crook, the shooter who opened fire on former President Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Released via AFP)
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., and Ranking Member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., spoke with FBI Executive Deputy Director Robert Wells on Monday.
A spokesperson for the committee issued a statement to Fox News on the status of the investigation and what happens next.
“The FBI is focused on the gunman, his motive, any potential associations, developing a timeline of events and related matters, while the Secret Service is conducting an independent review of its security protocol. Chairman Green is pleased to learn that the FBI has so far conducted nearly 100 interviews and has access to the gunman’s phone. Executive Director Wells assured Chairman Green that the FBI intends to be transparent with Congress throughout its investigation. Chairman Green intends to schedule a site visit, if possible, once the scene has been processed, and looks forward to being briefed by the USSS as soon as possible, as do members of the Committee.” – House Homeland Security Committee Spokesperson
The FBI said it conducted nearly 100 interviews with law enforcement officers, event attendees and other witnesses. It also received hundreds of tips from digital media, including photos and videos taken at the scene.
The agency began its investigation into Crooks and the shooting shortly after Saturday's attack. Agents went to Crooks' home and his parents' home on Sunday and Monday. They are investigating the incident as an attempted murder and possible domestic terrorism.
Trump broke his silence about Monday's assassination attempt, saying he is alive “by luck or by God.”
“I'm not supposed to be here, I'm supposed to be dead,” Trump told the New York Post. “I'm supposed to be dead.”
“The doctor at the hospital said he'd never seen anything like it, he called it a miracle,” Trump told the paper aboard his private jet, as he headed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for this week's Republican National Convention. “By luck or by God, a lot of people say it's by God that I'm still here.”
WHO WAS THOMAS MATTHEW CROOKS? WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Trump told the Post that if he had not turned his head slightly to the right to read a graphic about illegal immigration, the bullet that grazed him would have been fatal.
Trump told the Post that if he had not turned his head slightly to the right to read a graphic about illegal immigration, the bullet that grazed him would have been fatal. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Republican convention begins two days after Trump survives assassination attempt
He described the Secret Service agents who rushed him as “supporters” and said another took out the gunman with “a shot between the eyes.”
The Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 14, 2024, on the eve of the start of the Republican National Convention. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
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“They did a fantastic job,” he told the Post. “It's surreal for all of us.”
