FBI releases photos of weapon used in Trump assassination attempt

The FBI has released new photos of the gun used to shoot Donald Trump during a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. It has also released new photos of the backpack and explosives the shooter had in his car at the rally.

The images were released Wednesday as FBI officials released new details about Thomas Matthew Crooks' internet research in the days before the shooting and how investigators are using that research to reconstruct his state of mind that day.

The photos show the weapon's folding stock, which investigators say may have been used to conceal the rifle at the crime scene.

The FBI said Wednesday that while Trump's potential assassin had researched campaign events for the former president and President Joe Biden, he then became “hyper-focused” on the rally in Pennsylvania, which took place just 40 minutes from the shooter's home.

Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh field office, described how the shooter viewed the Trump rally as a “target of opportunity.” Officials have not yet identified a motive and said Crooks did not express “any clear ideology.”

“We detected through our analysis of all of his — particularly his online searches — a sustained, detailed effort to plan an attack on specific events, meaning he looked at any number of events or targets,” Rojek said. “And then when that event was announced, the Trump rally, in early July, he became hyper-focused on that specific event and viewed it as a target of opportunity.”

Those searches, Rojek said, also revealed the detailed searches Crooks conducted of the rally site, including the building where Crooks was when he shot Trump.

On July 6, nearly a week before the rally, Crooks searched online for “where will Trump speak at the Butler Farm Show,” as well as “Butler Farm Show podium” and “Butler Farm Show photos,” Rojek said.

Two days later, Crooks searched “AGR International,” the company that owned the buildings Crooks climbed into before opening fire. On July 9, Crooks searched for “ballistic calculator,” and the next day, for “weather” and “butler.”

According to the FBI, the crooks had been searching for explosive devices for several years. From September 2019 to this summer, the shooter searched for terms such as “how to build a bomb out of fertilizer,” “fuse,” “detonator,” and “how do remote detonators work.”

FBI officials also vigorously dismissed conspiracy theories about the attack, stating categorically, for example, that there was no second shooter targeting the former president that day.

“I can confirm that there was no second shooter,” Rojek told reporters.

Regarding Crooks' motive, Bobby Wells, deputy director of the FBI's National Security Branch, said investigators had a “clearer idea of ​​Crooks' intent,” but “at this time, the FBI has not identified a motive nor any co-conspirators or associates of Crooks who had extensive knowledge of the attack.”

Wells also stressed: “We have seen no evidence that Crooks was controlled by a foreign company.”

When asked about previous online posts that appeared to be political in nature and came from accounts associated with Crooks, Rojek said the FBI continues to see Crooks “through our analysis as having a mix of ideologies.”

“I would say that we do not recognize any definitive ideology associated with our issue, neither left-wing nor right-wing,” Rojek said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at CNN.com