Thomas Mathew Cooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate the United States Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, searched online for events of the former president and President Joe Biden.
Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said Cooks repeatedly looked up information about explosives and saw the Pennsylvania campaign rally as a “target of opportunity.”
Addressing reporters on Wednesday, Rojek said investigators who have conducted nearly 1,000 interviews do not have a motive for why the 20-year-old shot at Trump during a July 13 campaign rally.
Rojek said FBI analysis of Cooks’ online search history reveals a “sustained, detailed effort to plan an attack on some event, meaning he looked at any number of events or targets.”
Once Trump’s rally was announced, Rojek said Cook “became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity.”
His internet searches in the days leading up to the rally included queries about the grounds where the rally was held.
His search queries include “Where will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show?” “Butler Farm Show podium” and “Butler Farm Show photos.”
