Federal authorities are investigating after former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
The alleged shooter was killed by snipers. One spectator was killed and two were hurt, officials said.
It’s not clear if a bullet or shrapnel hit former President Donald Trump’s ear, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee.
"With respect to former President Trump, there's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear," Wray said in response to a question from Chairman Jim Jordan asking whether the FBI has accounted for all bullets fired by the shooter. "It's conceivable, although as I sit here right now, I don't know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else. But I believe we've accounted for all the shots in the cartridges."
FBI agents determined Crooks' father purchased the firearm used in the shooting in 2013 and sold it to his son in October 2023, Wray said.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr and Alex Mallin
The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, accessed the roof of the AGR building using mechanical equipment on the ground and piping on the side of the building, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee.
Crooks visited a gun range a day before the shooting, Wray said.
Authorities have interviewed Crooks’ parents, who Wray describe as "cooperative."
"It's the FBI position right now that he still acted independently," he said.
Wray said he was about to have dinner with family when he heard about the shooting. He said he was "horrified and angry."
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
It appears the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was a "loner" and didn't have a lot of contacts in his phone, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee.
"A lot of people describe him as a loner. That does kind of fit with what we're seeing in his devices, you know, his list of contacts, for example, is very short, compared to what you would normally see from most people. Doesn't appear to be a whole lot of interaction between him, you know, face-to-face or digital, with a lot of people," Wray said.
The FBI has conducted over 400 interviews, with "many more to conduct," he said.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
The weapon used by the gunman had a "collapsible stock," meaning Thomas Matthew Crooks could easily conceal the gun at the rally, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee.
"The weapon had a collapsible stock, which could explain why it might have been less easy for people to observe," he said.
Wray said that the shooter was not on the FBI's radar and there were no FBI assets at the rally.
Wray said there were 14 guns in the home where Crooks lived.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump was "preventable," and said the committee is "concerned the Secret Service lacks the management to keep protectees safe."
"A former president and current candidate for president was shot in the head by a sniper within 500 feet of the podium," Comer said in his opening statement ahead of Secret Service Director Kim Cheadle’s testimony on Monday. "This is unacceptable. We are concerned the Secret Service lacks the proper management to keep protectees safe from bad actors. Americans demand answers, but they have not been getting them from the Secret Service. We are instead learning about the events surrounding the assassination attempt from whistleblowers and leaks. Americans demand accountability, but no one is yet to be fired for this historic failure."
Comer reiterated his call for Cheatle to resign.
Ranking committee member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said it is Congress' responsibility to learn from the attempted assassination and to ask tough questions of the director as to how this could have happened.
"Some are calling it a miracle that former President Trump escaped this AR-15 attack, unlike so many thousands of our fellow citizens who have been killed or seriously committed in other AR-15 shootings," Raskin said. "Our job in Congress is not simply to marvel at miracles ... but to act as public policy legislators to do whatever we can to prevent future political violence, attempted assassinations and massacres."
Raskin said he and Comer are "determined to get the bottom" of the "stunning security failures."
He also called on Congress to ban assault weapons, noting that the gunman who shot Trump was 20 years old and used his father’s AR-15.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
