Latest live news on Trump, the assassination attempt investigation and the Republican convention
Police are seen outside the home of Matthew Crooks in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. Kyle Mazza/Anadolu/Getty Images
It’s been five days since a 20-year-old man attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the shooting at the rally, which left Trump and two others injured and one dead.
Meanwhile, the Secret Service is under intense scrutiny because the attacker was able to climb onto a roof and get a clear view of Trump during the rally. A group of Republican senators criticized US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night, accusing her of refusing to answer questions about the assassination attempt.
Here’s more about what we know now about the shooting:
About the shooter: Thomas Matthew Crooks lived in Bethel Park, a suburb of Pittsburgh, about 35 miles south of the Trump rally. According to the FBI, the gun Crooks used in the shooting was an AR-style weapon. According to three US officials, the shooter’s phone contained photos of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Sources said the search history on Crooks’ devices included the date of the Democratic National Convention and Trump events. Investigators are not sure what the search meant, officials said.
A fake profile: Investigators now believe the Steam account in the name of the man who shot Trump over the weekend is fake, a US official briefed on the matter told CNN. The FBI told senators on Wednesday that it believed the account actually belonged to Crooks, a source familiar with the report said. But the agency has now revised that assessment, the US official said.
Latest on the investigation: The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general launched an inquiry into Secret Service decision-making. The House will establish a “working group,” Speaker Mike Johnson said. In his first public statement since the assassination attempt, the head of the Secret Service said Monday that the agency would “fully participate” in an independent review ordered by President Joe Biden and also said the agency would work with Congress on “any action of oversight.”