FBI investigates all night to find information on Trump shooter's phone

Phone unlocked successfully

According to NBC News, early on the morning of July 15 (US time), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that technicians had successfully accessed Crooks' phone.

Although it took a day to unlock the phone, the FBI lab eventually did it on its own without any help from any outside company.

A search of the electronic devices has yet to reveal Crooks' motive, but analysis continues.

The FBI is also expected to release more information about the explosive device found in Crooks' car.

It is not yet clear whether analysis of Crooks' phone will yield any clues as to why the suspect wanted to assassinate Mr. Trump.

The FBI also searched the suspect’s car and home in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. They found two homemade explosive devices in Crooks’ car and one in his home.

According to FBI and Department of Homeland Security news releases, Crooks received several packages over the past several months, some of which were marked as possibly containing hazardous materials.

On the day he planned to shoot Mr. Trump, Crooks bought 50 rounds of ammunition at a gun store in Bethel Park.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned that others could continue to commit violence in the wake of Crooks’s killing. “We cannot rule out the possibility that domestic violent extremists and other actors may seek to conduct further acts of violence or retaliate in response to this assassination,” the agencies said in a news release.

Previously, according to ABC News, on July 13, Crooks borrowed his father's AR15 rifle under the pretext of going to a shooting range. Because Crooks' father occasionally allowed his son to borrow guns for shooting practice, he did not see anything suspicious when he lent Crooks the rifle on July 13. Crooks used his father's rifle to assassinate Mr. Trump.

Law enforcement is also scouring Pittsburgh-area gun stores for information about Crooks’s ammunition-buying habits, both in-store and online. Among those stores is Allegheny Arms & Gun Works in Bethel Park, about a mile from Crooks’s home.

FBI investigators have conducted nearly 100 interviews with law enforcement officers, event attendees and other witnesses to learn more about what happened.

The FBI has received hundreds of pieces of information such as photos and videos taken at the scene and they are continuing to review the information submitted.

Motive unknown

Authorities are focusing on investigating the suspect's motive and whether he had support from others.

In a speech to the nation from the Oval Office on the evening of July 14, President Joe Biden said it was unclear what motivated the suspect to make such a brazen attempt on Mr. Trump's life.

Earlier, Mr. Trump had been speaking for about 10 minutes at an outdoor campaign rally when gunshots rang out, followed by screams. Mr. Trump held his bleeding right ear and crouched on the ground as Secret Service agents rushed to protect him.

The FBI has not yet determined the shooter's motive, but is working to determine the sequence of events and the shooter's actions leading up to the incident, collecting and reviewing evidence, conducting interviews, and following up on any tips.

Officials said the building the suspect climbed onto to open fire was outside the security perimeter but about 120 meters from Mr. Trump's podium.

Investigators have begun tracking the suspect to find out how Crooks got onto the roof.

Just minutes before the shooting, witnesses in the crowd attempted to alert the Secret Service that they had seen an armed man.

After being discovered and stopped by the police, the suspect continued to shoot at Mr. Trump, even as he tilted his head to look at the screen. Mr. Trump later said that tilting his head saved his life.

Crooks was shot dead by one of four Secret Service snipers positioned on surrounding rooftops.

FBI Director Christopher Wray called the assassination of Mr. Trump nothing less than an attack on American democracy.

The FBI is investigating as a domestic terrorism case and said it has not yet found any evidence of mental illness in Crooks, but said it will review social media accounts, the weapon used in the incident and related DNA evidence.