Trump assassination attempt: FBI shares first look at shooter's concealed AR-15 rifle

The FBI's investigation surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month has rung up a new update. In a bombshell reveal, the first images of the rifle 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks used to fire shots at the July rally were shared online. The image further unveil how the would-be assassin concealed the AR-15 style weapon in a backpack while making his way through the rally crowd.

“The #FBI remains steadfast in investigating the details surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania,” the agency captioned the post on X, formerly Twitter. Sharing two pictures of the weapon, FBI shows a picture of the rifle broken down and another with the weapon fully assembled.

How Trump's would-be assassin concealed the semi-automatic weapon at the rally?

Crooks reportedly broke the semi-automatic DPMS DR-15 rifle into two pieces to carry it in a black SwissGear bag, also revealed in the new images. The said backpack was recovered onsite. Previous reports had already informed that the weapons was originally purchased by Crooks' father a decade a ago, which the 20-year-old shooter ultimately used at Trump's rally to open fire. He fired eight shots at the former president, ultimately grazing his right ear with one. Meanwhile, 50-year-old retired fire chief Corey Comperatore, who was an attendee at the event, died.

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The New York Post also reported that the agency had released images of two improvised explosive devices found in the trunk of Thomas Crooks' car. FBI said the IEDs had “several problems with the way they were constructed.” The trunk also had another backpack, a laptop bag, and a spray bottle containing a clear liquid.

On the day of the assassination attempt in Butler, Crooks perched his semi-automatic weapon about 130 yards away from Trump's spot on the stage. Two other wounded victims were former Marine David Dutch and James Copenhaver. Although they were seriously injured, they fortunately survived the shooting and have been released from hospitals.

FBI's latest remarks about Thomas Crooks

Even as the Trump's shooter remains an infuriating enigma today, his motive is unknown to the authorities. At a news briefing on Wednesday, the bureau said that Crooks had a “mixture of ideologies” – which neither solely leans towards left or right. Though a registered Republican, the would-be assassin donated $15 to liberal campaign group ActBlue.

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He seemed to have acted alone at the July rally, as US authorities hinted at there being no sign of external involvement.

Head of the FBI's Pittsburgh office, Kevin Rojek said: “When… the Trump rally was announced early in July, he became hyper-focussed on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity.”

Per other reports, Crooks' search history included mentions of John F Kennedy's assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and several other high profile figures. Rojek told reporters during a press call that Crooks had “a sustained detailed effort to plan at attack on some event, meaning he looked at any number of events or targets.”

Authorities also said that he looked up “Where will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show?” Additionally, his previous searched revealed that he had been researching online how to make bomb and what kind of ingredients were needed for the process.

Eventually, a Secret Service sniper shot and killed Thomas Matthew Crooks.

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