1 of 4 | Former President Donald Trump is rushed off stage by secret service after being shot in the ear during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. On Wednesday, the FBI released new details about the suspected shooter, but was still unable to provide any clear motive for the attack. File Photo by David Maxwell/EPA-EFE
Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday released new details about the suspected shooter in last month's attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, but was still unable to provide any clear motive for the attack after conducting hundreds of interviews, combing through Internet searches and analyzing video.
The shooting, which killed a man at the July 13 Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pa., has focused on Thomas Matthew Crooks. The FBI said the 20-year-old gunman was "hyper-focused" on a "target of opportunity," rather than any political ideology.
"I would say that we see no definitive ideology associated with our subject, either left-leaning or right-leaning," Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, told reporters during a media call Wednesday.
Crooks is reported to have conducted "more than 60 searches related to former President Trump and President Biden within the month leading up to the attack," according to the FBI.
Other online searches included, "How far was Lee Harvey Oswald from John F. Kennedy" and "Where will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show?" according to officials.
"We saw through our analysis of all of his -- particularly his online searches -- a sustained detailed effort to plan an attack on some events, meaning he looked at any number of events or targets," Rojek said. "And then, when this event was announced, the Trump rally was announced, early in July, he became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity."
The FBI also released a photo of the improvised explosive device found inside Crooks' vehicle, adding that all of the explosive's components were "readily available online" and were purchased legally. Another photo showed the suspect's "rifle broken down as was likely done for transport along with the backpack recovered onsite."
According to surveillance video, Crooks climbed onto the roof of the AGR building just six minutes before he allegedly fired eight rounds at 6:11 p.m. and was killed by a Secret Service sniper, FBI officials said. One of the shots grazed Trump's ear, a supporter in the crowd was killed and several others were injured.
FBI officials also revealed a toxicology report on Crooks' body showed no traces alcohol or illicit drugs.
While the FBI said investigators have a "clearer idea of mindset" of the shooter, "the FBI has not identified a motive, nor any co-conspirators or associates of Crooks with advanced knowledge of the attack," Bobby Wells, executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch, told reporters. Wells added that "we have not seen any indication that Crooks was directed by a foreign entity."
Rojek also pushed back during the briefing on conspiracy theories surrounding the Trump assassination attempt, saying "I can confirm that there was no second shooter."
