Trump Shooter’s Motive Unclear Days Later; Father Has ‘No Comment’

This June 3, 2022 still image taken from video provided by the Bethel Park School District shows student Thomas Matthew Crooks in the 2022 Bethel Park High School Commencement in Bethel Park, Pa. (The Bethel Park School District via AP)

Ten days after the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, officials have not found a motive, while other details about the shooter, who was killed that day by a Secret Service sniper, remain unclear.

The shooter’s father, Matthew Brian Crooks, 53, was spotted leaving a store on Monday, telling Fox News that he won’t be releasing a statement on the shooting for the time being.

“We just want to try to take care of ourselves right now. Please, just give us our space,” Mr. Crooks told the Fox News reporter in a videotaped encounter in Bethel Park. “We’re going to release a statement when our legal counsel advises us to do so—until then, we have no comment.”

It was the first time Mr. Crooks spoke about the incident since he released a brief statement to CNN saying that he would speak with law enforcement officials first and did not know “what the hell is going on.”

Both the FBI and the Pennsylvania State Police have interviewed more than 100 people since the incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, that left one rally-goer dead and two injured, Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris told the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday. Former President Trump’s right ear was struck by a bullet during the shooting.

Mr. Paris said that a detonator of sorts was found on the shooter after he was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper. The police official did not have any knowledge of a possible motive.

But details about 20-year-old shooter have remained unclear, including whether he was motivated by a particular political animus or something else. Several former classmates recalled him being quiet, and some claimed he was bullied, although the bullying assertions were refuted by the school he had attended. The school also refuted claims that he was on the high school’s rifle team.

More details about the investigation are expected to be made public in the coming week when FBI Director Chris Wray appears before the House Judiciary Committee.

Multiple security lapses at the rally, including officials reporting the would-be assassin as a suspicious person before he climbed onto a roof that had a direct line of sight to the former president, have triggered intense scrutiny of the Secret Service and Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned on Tuesday.

After a Monday appearance before the House Oversight Committee, both its chairman, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), and its ranking member, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), called on her to resign in a joint statement.

“Today, you failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure and to reassure the American people that the Secret Service has learned its lessons and begun to correct its systemic blunders and failures,” their letter reads.

Several House Republicans indicated on social media that they would introduce a resolution to impeach Ms. Cheatle if she does not resign.

In hours of questioning, Ms. Cheatle provided little-to-no insight into why a suspicious person was allowed to climb the roof or why an agent was not stationed on the building from which the gunman fired. In an interview last week, Ms. Cheatle said that no agent was positioned on the roof because it had a sloping angle.

“What I can say is that the individual was identified as suspicious,” the former director said in response to a question from Mr. Raskin about whether he was flagged as a possible threat before the shooting. She also confirmed the shooter had a rangefinder device and noted that those items are not prohibited.

After she resigned from her post, President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas thanked her for her service.

“Over the past two years, she has led the Secret Service with skill, honor, integrity, and tireless dedication,” Mr. Mayorkas, whose agency oversees the Secret Service, said in a statement. “She is deeply respected by the men and women of the agency and by her fellow leaders in the Department of Homeland Security. I am proud to have worked with Director Cheatle and we are all grateful for her service.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the FBI for comment.