Did Trump’s alleged shooter expect to survive the attack? What the evidence so far suggests

In the days following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, investigators have looked into the suspected shooter’s past and found evidence suggesting he was isolated from the community and bullied at school, several sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News. As they continue to search for a motive for the attack, investigators are wondering whether the shooter expected to survive the attack.

The suspect’s former classmates described him as quiet and said he seemed lonely and without many friends. Investigators are also looking into whether the suspect appears to have consumed misinformation before the attack and whether that played a role in it, according to law enforcement sources.

Investigators have found no evidence that the suspect – 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks – worked with anyone else to plan the attack, and they have found nothing atypical for an investigation of this nature. He also does not appear to have any ties to extremist groups or individuals, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The suspect had two cell phones on him, one on his person and a second found at his home, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to ABC News. One of the phones, unlocked by the FBI, did not provide any significant information about the suspect’s motives — only what sources described as “routine information” for a 20-year-old man.

Investigators also found a tactical vest in the suspect’s car, though it’s unclear why he wasn’t wearing it during his deadly attack on the former president’s rally — leading some investigators to question whether he expected to die in the attack. The gunman also asked his employer if he could take a day off on Saturday — the day of the attempted murder — but said he might return to work as early as Sunday, the day after that attack, according to law enforcement sources.

The firearm seized at the scene of the Trump assassination attempt was legally purchased by the suspect’s father in 2013, according to an urgent search conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), according to multiple law enforcement sources.

According to evidence collected by investigators, the suspect recently purchased ammunition both online and in person.

Before the shooting, the suspect occasionally went target shooting, using his father’s AR-15 rifle. On the day of the shooting, the shooter told his father he wanted to go to the range, so his father let him keep the gun, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News. Since this was not an unusual incident, the father thought nothing of it at the time, the source said.

The shooter had previously tried to join his high school’s shooting club but was turned away and asked not to come back, two students who were on the team at the time told ABC News.

The suspect participated in what the gun club called a “preseason” before tryouts, but he did not make it to the tryouts, the two team members said. Both students said Crooks was a “poor shooter.”

“Not only did he not make the team, he was asked not to come back because his poor shot was considered dangerous,” Jameson Myers told ABC News.

The suspect was employed as a dietitian at the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at the time of the shooting. According to investigators, the shooter is not known to have suffered from any mental illness.

Law enforcement sources told ABC News that investigators found a radio transmitter in the suspect’s pocket that may have been designed to trigger two suspected explosive devices that were in the suspect’s car and his apartment.

According to sources, the devices at both locations were constructed in a similar manner in ammunition containers and used components such as receivers that appeared to be paired with the remote control found in the suspect’s pocket.

According to one expert, there is currently no evidence that the shooter expected to survive the attack. He exhibited behaviors and problems similar to those of mass shooters – he was a loner, was bullied, was angry about some circumstances in his life and bought a large amount of ammunition – John Cohen, a former deputy secretary of intelligence and ABC News contributor, said in an interview with ABC News.

“Whether they commit suicide by police officer or they realize that their death will bring them the notoriety they need, in most cases, individuals who exhibit the behavioral characteristics of this shooter go into the attack with no expectation of survival,” Cohen, who has studied mass shootings for nearly a decade, told ABC News.

“Some behavioral characteristics that have already come to light indicate that this is an individual who clearly had problems establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. He was considered a loner, seemed disconnected from other parts of the community and had a fascination with weapons,” Cohen said.

Based on the evidence that has emerged so far, the suspect appears to have characteristics consistent with those of mass murderers, suggesting the shooter may have seen this as an opportunity to end his life, Cohen said. Whether or not he expected to survive will not change the way investigators investigate the attack, Cohen said.

“In their investigation, officials will first want to look for motive and determine whether this was an ideologically motivated attack or whether the attack was motivated by a sense of personal grievance or contention,” Cohen said.

“I suspect that based on what we have learned so far, we will find that there were several factors that led this individual to carry out this attack,” Cohen said.