Trump shooter searched Google about Kennedy’s assassination and other public figures before assassination attempt
The gunman who shot former U.S. President Donald Trump is believed to have searched Google for “How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?”, the FBI director revealed on Wednesday.
“The shooter appears to have done a lot of searches of public figures in general … news articles and things like that,” Wray said, adding that images of high-profile officials and politicians found on the shooter’s phone were linked to the articles.
The shooter looked to be deeply interested in public figures, however, there is no clarity on his motivations for the attack or clues about an ideological motive.
The revelation comes as investigators try to ascertain what may have motivated the 20-year-old Thomas Crooks to mount an assassination attempt on the former president. The attack on Trump led to the death of one rallygoer and seriously injured two others.
Crooks himself was killed by a U.S. Secret Service sniper. The shooter reportedly carried two remote detonators for two explosive devices left in his car, which were not activated.
Crooks is also believed to have visited the rally site a week before the event, staying for about 20 minutes, and then returning on the morning of 13 July. He also flew a drone about 200 yards from the rally stage for about 11 minutes, using the device to livestream and watch footage, hours before the shooting.
(With AP inputs)