Rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks may have been scoping out the site of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump six days before the Pennsylvania campaign event took place, according to federal investigators.
Geolocation data found on a cell phone linked to Crooks, 20, showed that he could have been near the Butler Farm Show grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 7, a week before the shootings that injured Trump and two rallygoers and killed local firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was shot as he tried to shield his family from the gunfire, reports The New York Times.
The FBI shared the information this week during a congressional briefing.
The details about Crooks' potential whereabouts revealed that he may have been checking out the grounds the day before the Secret Service met with local law enforcement officers for a security assessment on July 8, before finalizing their plans a few days later.
The Secret Service's decision to exclude warehouses to the north of where Trump was to speak, including the one closest to the stage where Crooks launched his attack, is now under scrutiny from Congress.
The FBI, while investigating the attempted assassination of Trump, who officially became the Republican presidential nominee Thursday night, has not said yet if the bureau will be issuing a report.
Federal officials, speaking with The Times under the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation, said the FBI has learned more information about Crooks and his movements after he potentially scoped out the Butler County show grounds.
He reportedly told his employer at a nursing home where he had been working that he needed to have Saturday off because he was doing something important.
On the afternoon before the shooting, Crooks, of nearby Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, visited a gun range. The morning of the shooting, he bought a ladder at a local Home Depot, which federal officials said they do not believe he used to climb to the warehouse roof.
He also bought ammunition at the Allegheny Arms and Gun Works, a nearby gun store, the investigation has revealed.
After the Secret Service shot and killed Crooks, federal authorities discovered several magazines for his rifle, a bulletproof vest, and explosive devices in his vehicle.
The FBI's ongoing investigation includes developing a portrait of Crooks, including his actions during the last months of his life. The agency is also examining his cell phones, computers, and thumb drives.
Meanwhile, the federal investigators say that much of Crooks' life remains a mystery and that he did not suffer from a known mental illness, even though he searched online for information about "major depressive disorder."