Thomas Crooks shooter of former President Trump, did he act alone? #thomascrooks #donaldtrump #Assassination The Investigation: F.B.I. officials told Congress that the 20-year-old gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump used his cellphone and other devices to search for images of Trump and President Biden. Security Blind Spots: Even as investigators continue to examine what happened at the Trump rally, it is already clear that there were multiple missed opportunities to stop the gunman before the situation turned deadly. The Gunman: In interviews, former classmates of the suspect described him as intelligent but solitary, someone who tried to avoid teasing by fellow students. Secret Service Director: Kimberly Cheatle returned in 2022 to lead the agency she had served for nearly 30 years. Now, the assassination attempt on Trump has thrown her tenure into uncertainty. Fears of What’s Next: Among voters, there is growing anxiety that America’s political divide is nearly beyond repair, and the shooting only made things worse. A spectator who had been standing just outside the grounds said in an interview with the BBC that a few minutes into Mr. Trump’s speech, he noticed that someone was “bear-crawling up the roof,” clearly armed with a rifle, and that he tried to notify the police. Law enforcement officials later said that the gunman had opened fire from an elevated position outside the rally’s security perimeter. After the shooting, the gunman’s body was seen on the rooftop of one of the buildings to Mr. Trump’s right. An AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle was recovered at the scene, according to law enforcement officials. “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.” One spectator at the rally, Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter, was shot and killed. Two others were critically injured. (NY Times)