BUTLER, Pa. –
Investigators are hunting for any clues about what may have driven Thomas Matthew Crooks to try to assassinate former U.S. president Donald Trump.
The FBI said Sunday it was investigating the assassination attempt as a potential act of domestic terrorism. But the absence of a clear ideological motive by the man shot dead by the Secret Service has led conspiracy theories to flourish.
The FBI says it believes Crooks acted alone and had bomb-making materials in the car he drove to the Republican ex-president’s Pennsylvania rally.
Crooks graduated from high school in 2022. Records show Crooks was registered as a Republican.
This June 3, 2022 still image taken from video provided by the Bethel Park School District shows student Thomas Matthew Crooks in the 2022 Bethel Park High School Commencement in Bethel Park, Pa. (The Bethel Park School District via AP)
Law enforcement block a street in Bethel Park, Pa., that they say was a residence of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter of former President Donald Trump, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)