Authorities revealed that the gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump left a message on a gaming platform, which was later found to be a fake.
According to reports, law enforcement officials investigating the assailant who shot at former President Donald Trump at his campaign rally revealed that he left a message on a board on the popular gaming platform, Steam. “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds,” was the message that investigators found in their search of personal records belonging to Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The investigators also revealed that they found Internet searches for both Trump and President Joe Biden on a phone belonging to Crooks. Specifically, they found searches for the rally in Butler as well as information on the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago as well as images of both men. Authorities also confirmed that Crooks visited the rally site in Butler twice.
But officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation later determined that the Steam message wasn’t attributed to an account that belonged to Crooks, as initially believed. They stress that the investigation is still in its early stages and that they are combing through several other devices that belonged to Crooks. It was confirmed that there was no information found on his phone that could point them to any ideological ties to Trump or Biden as an explanation for his actions. Investigators also didn’t find any ties to domestic or international terror groups.
The 20-year-old was shot and killed after firing six to eight shots at Trump as he was addressing the crowd at the rally held in Butler, Pennsylvania last Saturday (July 13). The former president sustained an injury to his right ear. A firefighter, Corey Comperatore, was killed and two bystanders were injured. Law enforcement officials also confirmed that 20 minutes elapsed between Secret Service snipers first spotting Crooks at his rooftop position and the time that the first shots had been fired.
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Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty