Trump shooter’s father called police about his son before attack

The father of the gunman who tried to assassinate President Donald Trump called police before Saturday’s shooting out of concern for his son, according to media reports.

The call was one of numerous red flags that law enforcement agencies were notified of in recent days before shots rang out at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Law enforcement agencies, particularly the U.S. Secret Service, have faced growing questions about their security, including calls from lawmakers that the agency’s head should resign.

Matthew Crooks’ father called police concerned about his son and his whereabouts, a police source told BBC news partner CBS. It is unclear when the call was made but it was before the shooting.

It is unclear what Crooks’ father told police, but Fox News reported that Crooks’ parents, Mary and Matthew, told officers they were “worried” about their son and that he had disappeared without prior notice.

The FBI said the parents are cooperating with the investigation.

Law enforcement sources told US media that the shooter was suffering from severe depression and had been researching online about the Democratic National Convention scheduled for August.

He also kept photos of President Trump, President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Chris Wray and members of the British royal family, according to reports in the Washington Post and the Associated Press.

Investigators are still investigating the motive of a 20-year-old gunman who was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper after opening fire in the attack that left one spectator dead and several others wounded.

A preliminary investigation determined that Crooks was outside the rally when he climbed onto the roof of a nearby building by climbing onto an air conditioning unit that was installed next to the building, an unnamed official told CBS.

Lawmakers briefed by law enforcement this week said a counter-shooter used a rangefinder to alert the U.S. Secret Service to a suspicious man about 20 minutes before the attack began.

A rangefinder is an instrument that helps measure the distance to a target object.

Local police initially spotted the gunman about an hour before the shooting, wearing a backpack and acting strangely, and then lost sight of him in the crowd, before a sniper spotted him again.

Officers were alerted over the radio to a suspicious presence and searched the area where Crooks had placed a rifle on a rooftop.

When they couldn’t find anyone, one of the officers decided to check the roof and was hoisted up there by his co-workers, where he came face-to-face with the suspect, Butler County Manager Tom Knights told CBS.

The suspect pointed a rifle at the officer, who was defenseless, let go of the roof and fell to the ground.

He then alerted other officers to the presence of a shooter, and shortly thereafter, shooting began.

Police did not find any weapons when Crooks was seen in the crowd, and authorities are trying to determine why no one saw his AR-style rifle.

Investigators are considering various theories, including that the killer hid it near an air conditioner earlier in the day or somehow smuggled it into a backpack.

Officials say retracing his steps in the hours before the attack will be key to understanding how the shooting unfolded.

Authorities told CBS that the semi-automatic rifle used by Crook was legally purchased by his father in 2013.

Police sources told US media that when the shooter was discovered he was carrying a remote detonator and had explosives in his car.

It remains unclear what the motive for the attack was, or whether it was motivated by any political ideology.