PA - Assassination attempt, shooting injures former POTUS Donald Trump, leaves 1 spectator deceased two in critical condition, 13 July 2024 #2

[Tricia]

We are closing this thread for the night. It will reopen in the morning.
Thank you.

 

[Knitty]

MOD NOTE:

Couple of reminders here:

1. This is a crime thread, not a political thread. Please review Tricia's notes on the first page of this thread.
2. Like politics, gun control and gun laws discussion will derail the thread. There is a gun control/gun laws thread which is the ONLY thread in which those subjects are to be discussed here:

General Gun Violence/Gun Control #2

Hi All, Tricia has asked us to open up a discussion about gun violence, as clearly, there is a problem with gun violence, especially in the United States. In many of the cases that come to Websleuths, gun violence is the cause, and we don't/can't allow general gun violence/control discussion...

www.websleuths.com

Thread is open.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813511181618889191

Cops found a remote detonator next to Thomas Crooks' cellphone

A remote detonator was found on would-be assassin Thomas Crooks' body alongside his cell phone after he was shot dead by Secret Service snipers.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The remote detonator is seen next to Thomas Crooks' cellphone.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1812309492383596794

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813232767460909153

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813523993380458569

 

[Leopard]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813511181618889191

Cops found a remote detonator next to Thomas Crooks' cellphone

A remote detonator was found on would-be assassin Thomas Crooks' body alongside his cell phone after he was shot dead by Secret Service snipers.

www.dailymail.co.uk

View attachment 518465

The remote detonator is seen next to Thomas Crooks' cellphone.

This link talks about a woman that was addressing Crooks by name in the crowd, and this is the first I've heard that mentioned anywhere.

Edit: It's a teaser to another article on this site located here: More unanswered questions from Trump rally shooting

 

[rockthecasbah]

This link talks about a woman that was addressing Crooks by name in the crowd, and this is the first I've heard that mentioned anywhere.

Edit: It's a teaser to another article on this site located here: More unanswered questions from Trump rally shooting

Could be anyone that knows him, 50 miles is not that far. Maybe a former teacher?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I did wonder if his target may have been someone else in the crowd.

 

[thebedbug]

Could be anyone that knows him, 50 miles is not that far. Maybe a former teacher?

The video in question isn't new, it's one of the first to emerge (you've probably already seen it) and the woman is yelling "Ross!" (or Russ) - it sounds like to one of her kids or something.

 

[Cryptic]

Thomas Crooks pictured ONE hour before he shot Trump: Sniper identified gunman acting suspiciously checking his cell phone and a rangefinder at rally when they took this photo

I wonder who the sniper was (police verse Secret Service) and to whom he reported the range finder to?

This could point to a near total communications breakdown between the Secret Service and the local police. Perhaps the local police were passing observations up their chain of command- with no means to pass it over to the Secret Service?

In either case, the totality seems to be getting worse and worse:

- No LE on roof because it has a slight slope and is "too dangerous".
- Individual is seen fiddling with a range finder, nothing is done.
- Individual is reported to be on a roof well in advance, nothing is done.

 

[rockthecasbah]

The video in question isn't new, it's one of the first to emerge (you've probably already seen it) and the woman is yelling "Ross!" (or Russ) - it sounds like to one of her kids or something.

Do you have a link? I can't find it

 

[Inthedetails]

Hi neighbor…I know you’re just spitballing around your theory about Crooks identifying with Oswald, and somewhere you also wrote that you see somewhat of a physical resemblance between them.

I have to admit I don’t see it at all. I don’t see any physical resemblance, but beyond that I believe that at present, they don’t seem motivated by the same ideology.

Unless and until we learn more about Crooks’ motive, I agree that as yet we don’t know about any potential political issue he had with Trump in particular.

The opposite is true about Oswald. I think we are all familiar with his history, in that he was a fervent Communist at the height of America’s Cold War with the Soviet Union. He defected to the Soviet Union and gave up his American citizenship for awhile, and of course married a Soviet citizen.

When he and Marina did come back to America, Oswald tried relentlessly to get a visa to go to Cuba but he was rejected.

Therefore, JFK represented to Oswald an enemy of Communism and ergo a “justified” political target for assassination. Oswald’s Communist beliefs were not hidden and though he lived in a world without the Internet and cable TV, he blasted his beliefs everywhere he could.

Perhaps we will discover in time that TC had very strong opinions that led him to believe he had to dispose of Trump, but as of yet I don’t see anything that ties TC and Oswald together.

Just my opinion, too! Respect for yours.

Thanks, @Arkay, for understanding how brainstorming works. It is an imprecise, messy process to test ideas, tossing what doesn't work, and honing on in what does make sense. And thanks for your thoughtful rebuttal - very good points.

It's impossible to know the exact right answers instantly, and fwiw, I think once everything is examined, the motivation is going to be complex in some aspects (as humans are complex) and also very simple at the same time (not conspiracy).

Carry on!

jmo

 

[Waxahachie1]

Trump security boosted weeks ago over Iran plot to kill him

Trump security boosted weeks ago over Iran plot to kill him

There is no link between the plot and Saturday's attack, but disclosure raises questions over how a gunman got so close.

www.bbc.co.uk

Iran will always be looking for a way to kill Trump. Hope they never develop a Hellfire e

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813293652007080007

So, if I understand all the reporting and punditry correctly, the security design originally approved was that local LE's job was to make sure no one got up on the roof of the building in which they were headquartered. Even assuming that the local officers were not normally assigned to security work, HOW HARD IS THAT ASSIGNMENT?

Really.

The shooter had to cross a large field to get to the building - CARRYING HIS RIFLE. It seems to me the only explanations for his success in that effort do not reflect well on local LE.

There may be fault to find elsewhere, but I think in the end we will learn that outdoor events are difficult to cover even with the enhanced SS security Mr. Trump was provided, that SS protocols call for reliance on local LE to carry out simple tasks like this, and that this arrangement has always worked well.

 

[acutename]

Apparently Crooks had future educational plans:

Crooks had applied to the University of Pittsburgh, and in February received an offer of admission for the fall 2024 semester as a transfer student, Pitt spokesman Jared Stonesifer confirmed. In March, he turned down the offer.


Instead, he planned to enroll at Robert Morris University this fall, university spokesman Brian Edwards confirmed to the Post-Gazette.

More details emerge about Thomas Crooks, the Bethel Park man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump

Two days after officials said Thomas Crooks tried to assassinate Donald Trump at a rally in Butler County, neighbor after neighbor in the Bethel Park community...

www.post-gazette.com

found it odd that he would end his life with this attack; he was doing well with academic plans

 

[Cryptic]

In Paddock's case, I think he was just an evil man who shot up the concertgoers out of anger over his declining health and gambling losses. Total loser behavior

This one though. So challenging given that Thomas Crooks was a conservative like Trump.

I think your reference to Paddock is very telling:

An a-political rampager who murders dozens, apparently out of a blurry motive that includes despair at a declining ability to maintain a life style and a desire for criminal "fame" (Paddock's father had gotten into the news several times as a bank robber / escape artist).

I dont think Crooks politics detract from your linkage to Paddock at all.

In the end, Crooks seems to of had nominal political sentiments. He was apparently a registered Republican- takes about two minutes of time upon reaching voting age. He then made a single recorded donation of $15.00 to a progressive activist group.

As @TootsieFootsie states, a "bored and fame seeking motive" would then lead to the first convenient target offering the "fame". Trump, Taylor Swift, Biden, John Lennon, it does not matter.

 

[justtrish]

MSN

<modsnip - refers to deleted post> I went to find a good photo to show the stage and the massive sign Trump was using as he talked. He was point to and referencing a huge billboard like sign so he was turned and almost facing the shoot I think at some points. I don't know about angles and so forth, but thought I'd share this where you can see the sign that was behind and toward the direction of the shooter so as Trump was speaking he was referring to that sign.

Edited to add: I can't get the photo to attach, but if you scroll that article I posted you can see a close up from behind of the stage and the billboard beside the stage that Trump was pointing to and referring to when he was talking at the time he was shot.

 

[acutename]

I strongly believe he was using a VPN to research.

tech proficient
curious about the detonator and if he planned something else
why does a young man go off like this? reminds me of Kohburger
actually....throws his life away to be a criminal

 

[Chimera]

What was needed was security preventing access to rooftops by anyone who wasn't SS/LE... not necessarily a sniper ON that roof. Again, this seems to be basic preventative action... not rocket science.

jmo

Agreed.
The roof was low enough that rally attendees could see TC .
Not good at all.
Omo.

 

[PawneeDew]

So if he voted in the mid term elections in 2022, that is intresting. I wonder if he was intrested in local politics. I'll look and see what elections were going on in 2022 in Pa. Maybe he registered Republican because he supported some local candidates that are Republicans.. did he have a parting of ideas with anyone local.. has anyone locally (meaning state level) endorsed Trump publicly in recent months?

 

[Leopard]

Neighbors said they saw pro-Trump signs in the Crooks' yard as recently as several months ago.

“There absolutely was MAGA-supporting signs for a while,” Little said.

FBI, neighbors try to understand what motivated alleged shooter Thomas Crooks

Neighbors said they saw pro-Trump signs in the Crooks' yard as recently as several months ago.

www.wtae.com

I'd be interested to know what prompted the removal of the signs because I suspect whatever that event was set things in motion.

 

[Dotta]

Now they report
3 HOURS
as Breaking News

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813583149579780156