RICHMOND, Va. — Two days after former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a Saturday rally and two law enforcement experts in Richmond are weighing in on the FBI investigation.
Dr. William Pelfrey is a law enforcement expert while serving as a professor of criminal justice and homeland security at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“My first reaction was surprised that it was Trump that was targeted instead of [President Joe] Biden. There has been a proliferation of far-right extremist activity over the past 10 years or so,” Pelfrey explained.
Pelfrey said much of his questions surround the fact that a gunman was able to fire a weapon so close to Trump.
“I've worked with current and former secret service students, and I was really surprised that the shooter was able to be so close within two or 300 yards of a president or a presidential candidate — it’s shocking,” he stated.
The shooter’s motivation is going to be critical, he said.
CBS News reported that more details emerged Sunday about the shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who was killed after he opened fire.
The FBI is investigating whether the shooter was a politically motivated homegrown domestic violent extremist, and investigators are still combing through his background, according to CBS News.
“[I want to know] the inspiration for the shooting or whether the shooter had additional plans? They had explosives in their car. It'll be interesting to know if anything comes out about why this shooter had these explosives,” Pelfrey stated.
Adam Lee once served as the Special Agent in Charge at the Richmond Field Office of the FBI.
He retired after a 22-year career with the FBI focused on criminal investigations and counter-terrorism.
Lee led many investigations that made headlines including the kidnapping of Hannah Graham and the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.
“We would first establish a command post. I’m absolutely certain they've done that in the Pittsburgh field office of the FBI and the FBI is a lead agency,” Lee recalled. “Now we're settling in for what will be a protracted investigation. They will be looking at all of the shooter's digital media evidence, which will be their phone, computers, and any type of online activity that they had engaged in.”
Both Pelfrey and Lee said they want to know if the shooter had any help or if any intel was shared to law enforcement about a possible shooting.
“I think what is going to be important now is to rollback the shooter's life and to try and understand if they have associations,” Lee said.
Based on prior experience, Lee said the investigation will take weeks and months.
Justice Department officials told reporters that investigators have the shooter's phone and were examining it at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia.
“Those investigations involve a massive amount of digital media evidence that the FBI is going to have to comb through. They have automated tools to enable them to do that with deliberate speed, but it still takes a long time. So that process, I guarantee you, is happening right now with all deliberate speed,” Lee explained.
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