Gunman in President Donald Trump's Assassination Attempt Was Working Alone, FBI Confirms By Escher Walcott 19

The gunman who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in July 2024 was working alone, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The law enforcement agency confirmed that no link was found between Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old suspect, and any other individuals inside the U.S. or across foreign borders in connection with the shooting attempt on the president, Fox News reported.

PEOPLE has reached out to the FBI for comment.

The “lengthy, behind-the-curtain rundown of the probe,” as Fox News described it, was provided by FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, as well as an official who asked to remain anonymous. (Fox News was the only publication to receive the information.)

The group said that 35 accounts linked to Crooks were examined in their investigation of the case, including those of his bank and social media pages.

The FBI was also able to access Crooks’ “foreign” email accounts from Germany and Belgium “within days of the attack,” to trace his potential connections with any other suspects in the assassination plot, according to Fox News.

“When there was a lead about an overseas connection — the two instances where we became aware of the foreign accounts — the FBI reached out to foreign governments. Very quickly, they provided the full contents of the accounts,” the unnamed senior official told Fox News.

“There is no foreign connection in this case. There is no individual that is outside U.S. borders or inside U.S. borders that had any role in directing him, inspiring him, or assisting him in any way — and that includes foreign governments,” they continued.

According to the FBI official, more than 1,000 interviews were conducted, and over 2,000 public tips were reviewed in relation to the case, Fox News reported.

More than 10 search warrants were executed and 100 subpoenas were issued, the outlet said, adding that investigators also seized 13 electronic devices associated with Crooks and his family members for analysis in the case, which was worked on by 485 FBI employees.

The FBI confirmed that there was “no evidence anywhere in this investigation that shows there was any foreign individual or foreign government or foreign organization tied to Thomas Crooks,” per Fox News.

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Bongino told Fox News that Crooks’ online activity was shared inaccurately by prior investigators in the case. He claimed that Crooks shared anti-government content online years before the incident.

“There is a limited record of him making political statements and advocating for political violence in 2019 and 2020,” Bongino told the outlet.

The FBI identified Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pa., as the man who opened fire at a Trump during a rally in Butler last summer.

Crooks died after a Secret Service sniper killed him. Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed at the rally, and two others — David Dutch and James Copenhaver — were critically injured. Trump, 79, meanwhile, suffered a gunshot wound to his upper right ear.

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According to the FBI, the weapon Crooks used for the assassination attempt was a .223 rifle, which his father controlled access to.

Eight rounds were fired in the incident, and there were an additional 22 unfired rounds and several unused magazines discovered in Crooks’ vehicle on a ballistic vest, Fox News reported.

The FBI also discovered an undetonated explosive device inside Crooks’ vehicle, the outlet said.

As for a motive for the shooting, the senior official told Fox News, “Crooks left no manifesto. He had no seepage of any kind. He didn’t give any indication anywhere that he was going to do this or why he did this.”