House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) revealed on Sunday that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the individual who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump, planned to escape from the incident by creating a “diversion” with explosives found in his vehicle.
Shortly after the shooting occurred, the authorities found the explosives in his vehicle and a remote detonator on his person after he was shot dead by Secret Service snipers. McCaul discussed the shooter’s plan during an interview.
While the FBI still does not know Crooks’ motive, McCaul — who formerly chaired the House Committee on Homeland Security — provided new details on Crooks’ plans before the assassination attempt.
“What’s interesting, Robert, is that he had a detonation device on him and two bombs in the car,” McCaul told host Robert Costa on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “What his plan was was to assassinate the president, create a diversion by blowing up his vehicle on the other side of the property, and then he could escape.”
McCaul paid a visit to the site where the gunman carried out the shooting, which hit Trump’s ear and killed a rallygoer. He said he was “glad that Director Cheatle did the right thing and resigned” and said it is “a failure” when there is an attempted assassination.
The House last Wednesday voted to create a bipartisan task force to investigate the shooting. The group is expected to release its findings by the end of the year. It will include seven Republicans and six Democrats.
So far, the authorities have been unable to determine why Crooks carried out the shooting. Investigators have not pinpointed a political affiliation that might indicate what motivated him.
The shooter was described as an “outcast” who was often bullied in high school. Jason Kohler, who attended the same high school as the alleged shooter, told a reporter what he remembered:
And you know how kids are nowadays. So they’re gonna see someone like that and they gonna target him because they think it’s funny or whatever. So it’s the best way I can describe it. And it’s honestly kind of sad. Like, I don’t want to say this is what provoked it, but you never know…
Yeah. I want to say he was a loner more because he was just… He was quiet, but, like, he was just bullied. Like, he was bullied so much. So much.
According to NBC Washington, Thomas Matthew Crooks was frequently bullied for things like wearing a mask when in high school.
This is former classmate Jason Kohler. Everything about his demeanor and speech patterns are bizarre and off to me, what do you think? pic.twitter.com/mpIZ9UvD98
— L (@SomeBitchIIKnow) July 14, 2024
In the days leading up to the shooting, Crooks went to a Home Depot to purchase a ladder. He also spent some time at his local gun range and later purchased 50 rounds of ammunition. He went to the scene of the rally before the event began and used a drone to scout out the location.
Hopefully, the task force will uncover much more information about why the Secret Service failed and what motivated the shooter.
