A remote bomb detonator was found near the body of Thomas Matthew Crooks on the rooftop from which he tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Authorities recovered a gray, 12-button remote, along with a cellphone, on top of the AGR International, Inc. building just outside of the rally grounds, Pittsburgh station WPXI reported.
Trump Assassination Breaking News
A transmitter was found next to Thomas Matthew Crooks
Here are exclusive photos from WPXI showing the cellphone and transmitter device discovered next to Crooks’ body moments after a Secret Service sniper fatally shot him. pic.twitter.com/HyCdHIjboA
— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) July 17, 2024
“The transmitter is believed to have been connected to an explosive device found inside Crooks’ car as investigators suggested that he had planned to stage a distraction during the shooting,” according to the New York Post.
Had Crooks pulled off a successful “distraction,” the shooting could’ve been far worse.
Podcast host Matt Tardio, who served as a sniper in the U.S. Army’s Special Forces, posted on X that Crooks appeared to have obtained a detonator for a specific firing system.
The Donald Trump shooter appears to have had the remote detonator for an Alpha Wireless Firing System (linked below). @ReincarnatedRus – Thanks for the tiphttps://t.co/EvcuRqUX4W pic.twitter.com/MUK4PneTbz
— Matt Tardio (@angertab) July 17, 2024
Do you believe there is information being hidden about the Trump shooting?
CNN reported that Saturday would have normally been a work day for Crooks, but he told his boss he wanted the day off because he had “something to do.”
“By 3 p.m. on Saturday, Thomas Matthew Crooks was at the security screening area for the Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania. He first aroused suspicion when he passed through the magnetometers carrying a rangefinder, which looks similar to a small pair of binoculars and is used by hunters and target shooters to measure distances when setting up a long-range shot, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation,” the news outlet said.
“The rangefinder would not have prevented Crooks from getting through the security screening point, but it did attract the attention of security personnel who kept an eye on him until he left the secure area,” CNN added.
#BREAKING: CNN’s John Miller reveals three new details on the gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump:
– Earlier in the day, he went through Secret Service security WITH his rangefinder and scoped out the snipers, who spotted him and said they need to keep an eye on him.
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 16, 2024
WPXI reported that local police took a picture of Crooks on the AGR International roof at approximately 5:45 p.m.
An officer then went up to the roof, and the assailant turned an AR-style gun on the lawman causing him to fall back.
Crooks then opened fire at 6:11 p.m. prompting a Secret Service counter sniper to shoot and kill the gunman.
CNN said that two remote-controlled explosive devices were found in Crooks’ car, along with three fully-loaded magazines and a bulletproof vest.
The Secret Service’s response may have been the reason Crooks never detonated the explosives in his car.
