Gunman bought 50 bullets just before Trump assassination attempt

(Dan Tri) - Suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks bought 50 bullets at a local store right before the shooting that injured former US President Donald Trump.

Secret Service agents carry former President Donald Trump off stage after being shot (Photo: Reuters).

The Guardian quoted a senior US law enforcement official as saying on July 15 that the suspect had bought 50 rounds of ammunition at a local store hours before the attack. Authorities said the suspect acted alone and used his father’s gun. Crooks’ father legally owned more than 20 guns. When investigators searched the suspect’s body, they found a transmitter. While searching the suspect’s car, they found a receiver wired to a metal box containing explosives. Investigators are trying to determine whether the remote control connected to the explosive device in the suspect’s car was part of an assassination plot. One theory investigators are considering is whether the shooter intended to detonate the explosives in the car to distract security personnel away from the shooting and toward the explosion.

The gunman was spotted crawling on the roof before the shooting (Photo: TMZ).

Sources have suggested that the shooter’s discovery by a member of the public and his confrontation with a local police officer trying to reach the rooftop where he was hiding may have prompted him to speed up his plans and bypass the distraction device. Several videos have emerged on social media showing that minutes before the shooting, some people at Mr Trump’s event alerted police when they saw a suspicious young man crawling on the rooftop. A security guard reportedly tried to approach the gunman, but gave up when he pointed a gun at him. The shooting happened very quickly, wounding Mr Trump in the right ear, killing one audience member and injuring two others. A sniper on the opposite rooftop shot the gunman with a single shot. The rooftop where the gunman was hiding and carried out the attack was estimated to be less than 150m from Mr Trump’s podium. The US Secret Service did not search the house, instead relying on local law enforcement to conduct security checks at the location. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on July 14 that the suspect acted alone when attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign event. The suspect is believed to have used an AR+15, one of the most popular and deadly guns in the US. This gun has an effective range of about 450-750m. As a civilian semi-automatic rifle, it can only fire a single shot, not a burst mode like a military gun.

According to Guardian/Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/tay-sung-mua-50-vien-dan-ngay-truoc-vu-muu-sat-ong-trump-20240715232211098.htm