A report by the Wall Street Journal revealed that the young man who attempted to kill Republican candidate Donald Trump was able to fly a drone and capture aerial footage of the campaign rally site in western Pennsylvania shortly before the former president's speech, raising concerns about significant security gaps prior to the assassination attempt. According to the report, Thomas Matthew Crooks programmed the drone to fly over the event location on July 13.
Crooks, 20 years old, fired six shots from the rooftop of a building approximately 400 feet from where Trump was speaking, resulting in one person’s death and two serious injuries, while leaving Trump with minor ear injuries. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper team, and his motives remain unknown. Multiple investigations are currently underway to determine how the gunman was able to climb onto the rooftop and open fire using an AR-15 rifle.
Police reportedly began to suspect Crooks more than an hour before the attack when they saw him loitering around the rally with a laser rangefinder and a backpack, but no one intervened. The use of the drone was merely part of Crooks' plan, as he began searching for the event site right after Trump announced his campaign on July 3, and registered to attend the event on July 7. Crooks visited the rally site a few days later for reconnaissance.
On July 13, he returned with homemade bombs designed for remote detonation, which were found in his vehicle near the site, along with a vest containing three 30-round magazines, suggesting he planned to cause greater harm. According to the newspaper, Crooks received several packages labeled "hazardous materials" at his home in recent months. He also conducted online research on Trump rally dates and looked up information about the upcoming Democratic convention and President Biden, providing investigators with conflicting clues about which ideology he may belong to.
