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

The father of the gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump called police before Saturday’s shooting because he was worried about his son, according to media reports.

The call was one of several red flags that were raised to law enforcement in recent days before gunshots rang out at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Law enforcement — and particularly the U.S. Secret Service — has faced growing questions about its security, with some lawmakers calling for the agency’s head to resign.

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

It’s unclear what his father told police. Fox News reported that Crooks’ parents, Mary and Matthew, told police they were “worried” about their son and that he had disappeared without warning.

Both his parents are cooperating with the investigation, the FBI said.

Law enforcement sources told US media that the shooter had searched online for major depressive disorder and the Democratic National Convention scheduled for August.

He also recorded images of Trump, President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Chris Wray and a member of the British royal family, according to reports from the Washington Post and the Associated Press.

Investigators are still trying to determine the possible motive of the 20-year-old gunman, who was shot dead by secret service snipers after he opened fire. His attack left one member of the public dead and several others injured.

The preliminary investigation revealed that Crooks climbed onto the roof of a nearby building outside the rally by climbing onto an air conditioner unit. The units were located next to the building, the unnamed official told CBS.

A sniper flagged a suspicious man using a rangefinder to the U.S. Secret Service about 20 minutes before the attack began, according to members of Congress briefed by law enforcement this week.

A rangefinder is an instrument that can be used to help measure the distance to a target.

Local police spotted the shooter, who was acting strangely and carrying a backpack, about an hour before the shooting. They lost him in the crowd, but he was spotted again by the shooter.

Officers were alerted by radio to the presence of a suspicious person and searched the area where Crooks had perched his rifle on a roof.

Finding no one, a police officer decided to check the roof. The officer was hoisted onto the roof by a colleague and came face to face with the suspect, Butler Township Manager Tom Knights told CBS.

The suspect pointed a rifle at him and the officer, who was in a “defenseless” position, dropped from the roof and fell to the ground.

He then alerted others to the shooter’s presence. Moments later, the shooting began.

No weapon was spotted by law enforcement when Crooks was seen in the crowd and authorities are trying to determine how no one saw his AR-style rifle.

Investigators are looking at several theories, including that he hid it earlier in the day near the air conditioning units or that he somehow managed to slip it into his backpack.

Tracing his steps in the hours leading up to the attack will be key to understanding how the shooting unfolded, authorities say.

Authorities told CBS that the semi-automatic rifle he was using was legally purchased by Crook’s father in 2013.

When the shooter was found, he was carrying a remote detonator and his car contained explosives, police sources told US media.

It remains unclear what motivated the attack, or whether any political ideology was responsible.