The FBI will conduct a victim interview of Donald Trump as part of its investigation into the attempt to assassinate the former president at a rally in Pennsylvania. The interview with Trump would be similar to those of any crime victim, regardless of the circumstances, an agency official said, per NBC News. "We want to get his perspective on what he observed, like any other witness," Kevin Rojek, the head of the FBI's Pittsburgh field office, told reporters in announcing that Trump had agreed to be questioned about the shooting.
The bureau released more information on the gunman in the July 13 attack, describing Thomas Crooks as "highly intelligent" and a "loner." He had hidden more than two dozen purchases of weaponry and explosives he made online from his parents, the New York Times reports, using aliases. FBI officials said interviews with hundreds of people and an analysis of his electronic devices have not revealed Crooks' motive for the shooting. His parents, with whom he lived, are cooperating with the investigation, officials said. The 20-year-old's recent online searches, they said, included "how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?" The FBI said Crooks appeared to be more interested in political violence than politics.
Rojek repeated that Trump was struck by a whole bullet or a fragmented one; Trump allies had been critical of the FBI for waffling on that question until the bureau clarified it last week. Corey Comperatore, who was attending the campaign rally, was killed in the attack, and two people were wounded. Law enforcement fatally shot Crooks. The FBI doesn't usually release information before an investigation is concluded, per the Times, but officials said they want to head off conspiracy theories and misinformation. (More Trump rally shooting stories.)
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