SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
We are learning more tonight about the suspect who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump. The Secret Service shot and killed that suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, in Butler, Penn., Saturday. FBI director Christopher Wray addressed reporters a short time ago.
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CHRISTOPHER WRAY: The shooter may be deceased, but the investigation is very much ongoing.
DETROW: NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has been reporting on the case today and joins me now. Hey, Carrie.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hey, Scott
DETROW: What is the latest on this massive federal investigation?
JOHNSON: Well, we know that witnesses described this suspect, Thomas Crooks, as brandishing a rifle yesterday, and we now know that AR-style weapon was actually legally purchased by the suspect's father. It's part of how authorities were able to identify the suspected shooter, who died in the attack. We also know law enforcement recovered what seems to be a rudimentary explosive device from the suspect's car. That's one of the reasons that agents and state police moved with such caution and care overnight. The FBI says the shooter's family seems to be cooperating at this point with the investigation.
DETROW: Yeah. And the FBI is calling this an assassination attempt and again, against former President Trump. What do we know about why this happened in western Pennsylvania?
JOHNSON: Well, the central focus of this sprawling FBI investigation is the motive. They're still trying to figure out why this 20-year-old, who, only a couple of years ago, won a math award in high school, could have walked across the roof of a building and allegedly taken shots at Donald Trump. President Joe Biden says he's grateful to law enforcement who risked their lives last night. And in remarks from the White House, he had this message for people.
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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: We don't yet have any information about the motive of the shooter. We know who he is. I urge everyone, everyone, please don't make assumptions about his motives or his affiliations. Let the FBI do their job.
JOHNSON: And Scott, we heard from Kevin Rojek, the FBI official who is leading this investigation. He told reporters they believe this shooter acted alone, and the FBI has not uncovered any ideology or any writings that would suggest his mindset, but it's still pretty early in this investigation. Rojek also said there were no indications of mental health problems here.
DETROW: What else do we know about what the FBI has been doing over the last 24 hours or so?
JOHNSON: Yeah, a lot - the FBI has recovered the suspect's phone. It's - sent it to be reviewed by experts. They've been able to see a few texts and phone call records but nothing there so far to indicate why the shooter took this step. They're urgently working to gain access to the entirety, all of the data on the shooter's phone. Evidence technicians are actually still on the ground in Pennsylvania. Agents are out there pursuing leads. The goal here is to create a timeline of the suspect, what he did in the weeks leading up to the shooting. Authorities have gotten more than 2,000 tips. They want even more. This is really an enormous effort. Here's more from President Biden.
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BIDEN: I've instructed that this investigation be thorough and swift, and the investigators will have every resource they need to get this done.
JOHNSON: The FBI has taken the lead on the attempted assassination, but state and local police are in charge of the homicide investigation because a 50-year-old Pennsylvania man died at the rally. He was trying to protect his family. Two other men there were shot, and state police say those two surviving victims are in stable condition tonight.
DETROW: Look, this happens in a context of a lot of political violence and violent rhetoric, and top officials, including the FBI director, the attorney general, have been warning about the threat environment for a couple of years now. Is what happened last night their worst fear?
JOHNSON: Yeah. In some ways, it really is. The attorney general, Merrick Garland, is throwing the full weight of the Justice Department behind this case. He's got the FBI, the ATF, the U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh and the National Security Division here in Washington. He's canceled a bunch of work travel he had planned this week to stay on top of this investigation. He told reporters today this violence is an attack on democracy itself and that it must stop. The FBI says they've actually already seen an uptick in hostile and violent rhetoric online overnight.
DETROW: And going forward, it is worth noting that the FBI probe is only one investigation that's now underway.
JOHNSON: We're going to be on this for a long time, Scott. The president has ordered what he calls an independent review of what happened in Pennsylvania. He's going to share those findings when it's done. This is a massive security breach, a huge embarrassment for the Secret Service. And members of Congress from both political parties want to hear from the Secret Service director and others about why this shooter was able to get on the roof of a building outside the security perimeter with such a clear line to where Donald Trump was standing. In fact, the Associated Press is reporting the shooter had an interaction with a local law enforcement officer right before the shooting.
DETROW: Wow.
JOHNSON: The FBI would not confirm that tonight, but it's one more important detail we're going to keep pursuing in the days ahead.
DETROW: NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson, thank you so much.
JOHNSON: My pleasure. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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