we can surely expect another try sooner or later but not with an AR, i'd say some will see it as a challenge now
Inside what Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks did in the 24 hours before rally shooting https://nypost.com/2024/07/16/us-ne...ks-did-in-the-24-hours-before-rally-shooting/ As investigators continue to puzzle over the motive behind the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, the shooter’s movements in the 24 hours leading up to the attack have come into focus — including a trip to a shooting range. On Friday, Thomas Matthew Crooks visited the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club and practiced firing shots, a law enforcement official told CNN. The club is about a 25-minute drive from the Bethel Park home where Crooks lived with his parents, the outlet noted. Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, was also a member of the club, and the pair enjoyed going shooting there together, law enforcement said. The club’s rifle range is about 200 yards long, CNN reported — longer than the distance between Crooks and Trump when the former fired from a rooftop the following day. “The Club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence that occurred,” a lawyer for the organization, Rob Bootay, told the outlet. Bootay declined to “make any additional commentary in relation to this matter in light of pending law enforcement investigations.” The club did not immediately return The Post’s request for an additional statement. On Saturday morning, Crooks bought 50 rounds of ammunition at Allegheny Arms and Gun Works in Bethel Park. The store bills itself as a “one-stop shop for all your firearm, ammo and accessory needs.” “As a responsible member of our community it is our prerogative to cooperate with law enforcement in every way,” a gunsmith at the store, Josh Rowe. said in a statement to The Post. After his stop at the gun shop, Crooks went to a Home Depot, where he purchased a five-foot ladder. A receipt for the ladder was later found in his pocket. “We condemn the violence against former President Trump, and our thoughts are with him, the other victims of Saturday’s horrific events, and their families,” a spokesperson for the retailer said. As of Tuesday, it was not immediately clear if Crooks used the newly purchased ammunition or the ladder in his attack on the Trump rally — though he did use a ladder to scale the roof of the factory to stake out the crowd. Crooks drove his Hyundai Sonata one hour north to the rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds, where thousands of Trump supporters gathered to see the former president’s speech ahead of the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin. He was observed by cops at least twice 26 minutes before the shooting, when he was able to scale the roof of a nearby manufacturing plant unchallenged. At 6:11 p.m., Crooks fired several shots from about 130 yards away from Trump — grazing the former president, killing one rallygoer and injuring two others — before he was shot and killed by the Secret Service. He used an AR-style rifle that was registered to his father. The weapon — as well as the over 20 other guns registered to Matthew Crooks — was purchased legally. Investigators found an explosive device in Crooks’ car and a transmitter on his body, suggesting that he may have intended to stage a distraction during the shooting. Days later, however, investigators are still at a loss as to what may have driven Crooks — whom a former school counselor described as “quiet” and not particularly political — to target Trump. The Bethel Park High School graduate’s phone yielded little evidence, and even his laptop showed typical online activities, including an interest in gaming and coding, CNN said. Matthew Crooks — who called the police sometime Saturday to report his son and his gun missing — and the shooter’s mother have cooperated with law enforcement, sources said. Both parents indicated that Crooks did not appear to have friends and did not have any obvious political allegiances — though they were also somewhat clueless about recent developments in his life, law enforcement told CNN.
Registered GOP but donated to a progressive group for $15....it.doesnt matter...he was batshit crazy and each side looking to gloat about the shooter belonging to the other side... a man was killed.