OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
4:16 PM – Wednesday, July 17, 2024
After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at his recent Pennsylvania rally, the father of the gunman who shot Trump’s ear reportedly called the police, reporting that his son and an AR-15 he owned had gone missing, prompting him to worry.
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The authorities stated that Crooks had used his father’s legally purchased 5.56 caliber AR-style gun to carry out the shooting.
According to state records, Matthew and Mary Crooks, the shooter’s parents, are both licensed counselors in Pennsylvania.
Shortly after shots were fired at the former president during a campaign rally on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, Matthew Crooks reportedly realized that his 20-year-old son, Thomas Matthew Crooks, and his gun were missing. The father then dialed 911, according to three high-ranking law enforcement officials who spoke with NBC News.
Subsequently, law enforcement officers then visited Crooks’ parents’ Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, residence.
They officially named Crooks as the shooter who opened fire from a building’s roof beyond the Trump rally’s security perimeter about a day later. Investigators utilized DNA to verify Crooks’ identity because he was not carrying any sort of identification on him.
Meanwhile, ongoing rumors on X (Twitter) related to a possible second shooter are making their rounds on the platform. Many conservative social media users have theorized that 20-year-old Crooks could have been a “patsy” type who was manipulated into committing the act and taking the blame while the real shooter was somewhere off in another area. However, none of these claims and theories have been proven or confirmed by investigators.
Additionally, on X (Twitter) and Instagram, many left-wing and Democrat social media users, whose party normally shuns any sort of conspiratorial topic, have now reversed course and decided to join in on the conspiracy front, boldly claiming that Trump was aware of and personally involved in what they are calling a “staged” assassination. However, there is similarly no proof to support these theories, and they are merely hearsay.
In addition, “more than a dozen” guns were found during the search of the Crooks’ residence, law enforcement authorities told NBC News. Whether Crooks’ father stored his guns in a lockable safe is unknown at this time.
Although it is not required by Pennsylvania law, gun owners are recommended to store their weapons in lock boxes or other secured storage spaces.
The car that Crooks drove to the event also held a receiver and what looked to be a metal box containing explosive materials and chemicals, according to the FBI. The police say that this suggests that the gunman may have been preparing to set off some sort of bomb as well.
Although Crooks’ motive for the shooting is still unknown, ongoing investigations have been initiated by the FBI and other law enforcement organizations.
“The FBI said in an update on Monday that they had obtained access to Crooks’ phone and were analyzing his electronic devices,” The Independent reported.
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