During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray disclosed that the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13 had performed a troubling Google search about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy just one week before the shooting.
The FBI said it was still working to determine the motive behind 20-year-old Thomas Crooks’ actions, which resulted in the death of one attendee and injuries to Trump and two others, CBS News reports.
Despite gaining access to Crooks’ electronic devices, including his cellphone, investigators have yet to uncover any significant information regarding his motive or ideology.
Wray’s testimony highlighted the complexity of the case, as authorities strive to understand the reasoning behind Crooks’ violent actions. The investigation remains ongoing, with the FBI exploring all possible leads to shed light on this disturbing incident.
A chilling discovery was made on a laptop linked to Crooks. A search history revealed a disturbing query made on July 6, exactly one week before the Pennsylvania rally: “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?”
This eerie search suggests Crooks may have been drawing inspiration from the infamous assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963.
Oswald fatally shot Kennedy from a sixth-floor perch at the Texas Schoolbook Depository in Dallas, with the Warren Commission later determining the distance between the two to be approximately 265.3 feet at the time of the deadly shot.
This striking search term stands out as a significant finding in the investigation, potentially offering a glimpse into Crooks’ motivations or mindset leading up to the attack. As authorities continue to probe the circumstances surrounding the shooting, this haunting query raises more questions about the influences and intentions behind Crooks’ actions.
Crooks fired shots from a rooftop approximately 400 feet away from the target.
The gunfire struck Trump in the ear and injured rally attendees.
According to FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony at Wednesday’s hearing, Crooks wielded an AR-style rifle and left behind a trail of evidence, including eight spent bullet cartridges found on the roof.
