FBI Director Christopher Wray, in his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, disclosed that the suspect, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, conducted a Google search asking "how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?" a week before the incident. This information, reported by CBS News, indicates a chilling detail into the mindset of the individual charged with opening fire and wounding Trump along with two others, and fatally wounding another attendee.
In a separate but related development, provided by WPXI, Crooks apparently flew a drone 200 yards from the rally stage hours before Trump's appearance, using it to livestream footage. This act, preceding what the FBI is probing as "an act of domestic terrorism and an attempted assassination," adds yet another layer to the premeditated actions leading up to the attack.
According to WPXI, During his testimony, Wray emphasized the gravity of the situation saying, "I have been saying for some time now that we are living in an elevated threat environment, and tragically the Butler County assassination attempt is another example — a particularly heinous and public one — of what I've been talking about." This was in line with his pledge to lawmakers to "leave no stone unturned" in investigating the shooting, which thrust the FBI into a complex political and security examination.
While the shooter's motive remains under investigation, the FBI has not identified any concrete ideological motive. However, Crooks registered for the Trump rally the same day he made the disturbing online search regarding the Kennedy assassination distance and was positioned approximately 400 feet away from Trump when he opened fire. According to Wray's testimony, which CBS News reported, eight cartridges from spent bullets were found on the roof where Crooks was located.
