Even more chilling details have emerged about the man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during his Pennsylvania rally.
On July 13, the nation was left rocked when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks - armed with an AR-style rifle - took to the rooftop of a nearby building while the former POTUS was speaking on stage in Butler.
After opening fire 10 minutes into Trump's speech, Crooks struck 78-year-old Trump in the ear.
Tragically, stray bullets also left one audience member - 50-year-old Corey Comperatore - dead and two others injured.
While Secret Service agents rushed the stage to protect Trump, other officials fatally shot Crooks to bring an end to the chaos.
After Crooks' actions left his hometown of the small Pittsburgh suburb Bethel Park rocked, more and more information has been revealed about the 20-year-old actions prior to the shooting.
As the FBI continued to investigate Crooks and analyse his electronic equipment, some startling revelations have emerged.
Images of Princess Catherine
As reported by NPR, after reviewing the contents of Crooks' laptop and two cell phones, photos of the Princess of Wales were found saved on his devices.
Princess Catherine was the only non-American in his search history, The Telegraph adds, with other images saved on Crooks' devices including notable figures like President Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The Telegraph adds that neither Kensington Palace nor the FBI were willing to provide a comment on the matter.
The Final Search Was For X-Rated Content
Per The Independent, Crook's encrypted Samsung phone was analyzed after it was collected from the scene of the shooting and flown to FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Quantico, Virginia.
A law enforcement official has since confirmed to The Daily Beast that Crooks' final search was for p*rn. "It’s not unusual," the source said.
The only other recent activity on the gunman's phone were texts from his parents at around 1:00PM that afternoon. "By 6:00PM he was dead," the law enforcement source told the outlet.
Other Concerning Searches Confirmed
Prior to the tragic shooting, CNN reports that investigators found an image of Ethan Crumbley on Crooks' primary cell phone.
Crumbley infamously killed four classmates during a Michigan high school shooting back in 2021. Crooks had also searched for information about Crumbley and his parents, who were both found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their responsibility in the tragic shooting.
The ruling marked the first time the parents of a school shooter had ever been charged and found guilty in relation to such a tragedy.
Other searches on Crooks' devices, per CNN, include photos of where Trump's rally was being held, the location of a gun store near his home - where he purchased bullets prior to the shooting - and a search for symptoms of a depressive disorder.
Crooks had also searched for the dates of Trump’s other scheduled speaking engagements, including the Democratic National Convention.
Drone Flight
Just hours before opening fire on Trump and rally-goers, Crooks had programmed a drone to fly over the Butler Farm Showgrounds, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Law enforcement officials believe the gunman used the remotely piloted drone several times around the location of the rally, as he potentially mapped out his abhorrent plan of attack.
Crooks is believed to have programmed the drone to fly over the site on a "predetermined path".
A drone was later discovered in Crooks' car.
As the FBI continues to construct a picture of the shooter and his motivation behind the attack, our thoughts continue to go out to every person impacted by this tragedy.
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