I just wonder how much the parents actually knew. It sounds like he was able to be secretive when he needed to be. If both of them are in the mental health field, perhaps over the years he learned how to manipulate them or say/do the right things to appear well. Maybe that was part of the fun for him.
I'd like to know about the bike as well. Last I checked that was unconfirmed.
nypost.com
It seems some of the biggest problems were due to a lack of cohesion between the SS and the local LE they involved that day. Observationally, it seemed the initial attitude after the incident was, "we did our thing and they did theirs", which, in my opinion, is an unacceptable position for the SS to have initially taken, as they are the ones primarily responsible for a (former) President.
So, where in the timelime does that leave his vehicle, in which they found explosives? Did he ditch the car on site then return on bicycle, and if so, why?Exclusive photos showed the gunman’s bike parked beneath a tree just yards from the building where he fired up to eight shots, grazing Trump’s ear and killing a hero firefighter and wounding two other supporters.
A witness first noticed the bike at 5:30 p.m. — when Crooks was busy scoping out the perfect spot and more than 40 minutes before he fired gunshots.
Thomas Matthew Crooks rode a bike through the Trump rally, law enforcement sources said.
Exclusive | Trump gunman Thomas Crooks used bike to scout rally unimpeded
A witness first noticed the bike at 5:30 p.m. — when Crooks was busy scoping out the perfect spot and more than 40 minutes before he fired gunshots.
I do think he internalized a lot and doesn't seem to be a volatile person with outbursts, but I do think the parents might have known he had some troubles. After all, they were concerned about him on Saturday, so they knew "something," but to what extent, we don't know.
I just posted a new article that gives some details about his parents. It seems they have been working from home since the pandemic. Mom might have some medical issues. The article mentions vision and walking with a cane. It also mentions the home and compares it to a hoarder home. So while they might have had decent careers, we are now seeing that they too had some issues going on. I would be interested to know if the home was just cluttered or if it actually was more of a hoarder house. That is a mental illness and it can be hard on the other family members in the house. I think it also could be they had some medical issues that prevented keeping a really tidy house and that is understandable. The actual act of truly hoarding speaks to a larger issue that could have had an impact on their son.
Yes, and now knowing the father (and perhaps mother) worked from home during the pandemic, perhaps gives a hint at some tension too. It could feel crowded with adults trying to work and live in the same place with young-adult kid(s) also at home. That was a stress many of us can likely understand.
I wonder if he anticipated having to shoot from further away than where he actually climbed that day? (Where was the gun?)
So, at some point after that he must have left, and then returned on the bike, as witnessed by attendees and some LE.From Honor Student to the Gunman Who Tried to Kill Donald Trump
Thomas Crooks was a brainy and quiet young man who built computers and won honors at school, impressing his teachers. Then he became a would-be assassin.www.nytimes.com
This is a new article and I noted these tidbits. Vehicle was a Hyundai Sonata.
Mr. Crooks’s parents, Matthew and Mary, are both licensed professional counselors, and interviews and business records suggest they have been working from home at least since the pandemic.
Mr. Crooks’s father worked at Community Care Behavioral Health, part of the insurance services division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, connecting patients with in-network counselors, a former colleague said.
F.B.I. investigators who searched the family’s home discovered it was cluttered and not well-cleaned, something akin to a compulsive hoarder’s house.
A neighbor said that years ago she occasionally saw Mary Crooks — who, according to federal authorities, was visually impaired — walking home from work from the local T train station, using a cane. But she had not seen her walking around in recent years.
On Saturday, he went to Home Depot at 9:30 a.m. to buy a ladder, purchased 50 rounds of ammunition later in the afternoon and drove to the rally. In the Hyundai Sonata he drove to the rally, investigators said, he left behind two rudimentary explosive devices, several magazines for the rifle he used, a bulletproof vest and the drone that may have been used earlier in the day.
This is so bizarre! He bought the ladder that morning and then just dumped it near his house? Why buy the ladder at all? Did he buy it and go to the rally site and use it for something, then leave and drive all the way back to an area near his house to dump it, then drive all the way back?2 hr 11 min ago
Missing ladder and backpack linked to Trump rally gunman found near shooter's home, sources say
From CNN’s John Miller
Law enforcement block a street near the residence of Thomas Matthew Crooks in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, July 14.
New evidence from law enforcement sources reveals that a ladder purchased by the gunman who sought to assassinate former President Donald Trump, plus a backpack that allegedly belonged to the shooter, have been located and are in possession of federal authorities.
A man driving near the shooter’s home discovered the ladder and backpack on the side of the road, according to law enforcement sources from two separate agencies. The person reportedly saw the ladder in that location for several days before deciding to alert authorities.
Drone discovered: Additionally, investigators searching Crooks’ belongings found a drone in his car. According to a source familiar with the investigation, they believe Crooks may have used the drone on a reconnaissance trip to the farm grounds on the day of the Trump rally.
The working theory is that the drone would’ve given Crooks an overview of the rooftops of nearby buildings and how they connect. That could have helped him choose the spot where he fired the shots toward the podium where Trump was standing.
As the investigation continues, authorities are likely to scrutinize these newly found items for any clues that might help piece together the sequence of events and the suspect’s movements before last Saturday’s shooting.
Could it be as mundane as the family needed a ladder and he went to the store to purchase it? Maybe it was actually un-related to the shooting. idk?!?
We know he made an earlier trip to the site that day, but I don’t think we know the time. Perhaps be bought that ladder prior to the first trip, and realized when he arrived at the site that he wouldn’t need it. Then he goes back home and leaves the ladder there.
Guess he didn't see the need to return it to the store for a refund. (Joking but not joking.)
