REBECCA DROKE / AFP via Getty Images
Authorities found explosives in the car of the 20-year-old would be assassin of former President Donald Trump on Saturday after he opened fired on Trump at a political rally in Pennsylvania.
Law enforcement also found bomb making materials at the home of the suspect, identified by the FBI as 20-year old Thomas Matthew Crooks, according to the AP. Crooks, who had donated to far-left causes, used a firearm that was purchased by his father, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Police set up a blockade near the suspect’s home in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, preventing traffic from going anywhere near the home as law enforcement executed search warrants.
Multiple neighbors told The Daily Wire on condition of anonymity that police had knocked on their doors to ask questions and in some cases advised the neighbors to leave their homes.
Police also received multiple reports of suspicious packages near Crook’s body after he was shot and killed on the rooftop where he was firing at the president from several hundred feet away.
As shots rang out, Trump grabbed his ear — a journalist captured a photograph of what could have been the bullet after it hit Trump and traveled past his head — and Secret Service shouted, “Get down! Get down! Get down!”
Trump dropped to the ground as he was tackled by Secret Service, where he remained until the gunman was neutralized by law enforcement.
Before they moved him off the stage, Trump yelled at the agents: “Wait! Wait! Wait!” Then, looking at the thousands of supporters who showed up, he raised his fist and shouted: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
The FBI and local law enforcement said at a press conference that the Secret Service, who did not show up the media event, was ultimately responsible for what happened.
“They conduct the initial site survey,” said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office. “They do the initial security assessments and determine where the different security locations should be. And they’re the ones who are in charge of securing the scene. We along with other state and local assets are there to support the Secret Service and their mission.”
At least one Trump supporter in the crowd was killed and two more were seriously injured during the attack, the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement.
Source link