Trump shooter searched for many potential targets but became 'hyper-focused' on Butler rally: FBI

The gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Trump searched for many possible targets but became "hyper-focused" on his campaign rally in Butler, Pa. as an "opportunity,” an FBI official said on Wednesday.

Federal investigators have reportedly conducted about 1,000 interviews but they have not pinned down the gunman's motive for carrying out the attack.

The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, did search for campaign events online involving President Biden and Trump in the western Pennsylvania area, the agency told reporters.

Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said on Wednesday that the gunman's online search history revealed a “sustained, detailed effort to plan an attack on some event, meaning he looked at any number of events or targets."

Rojek said Crooks "became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity."

While the FBI now has a "clear idea of mindset," the agency is "not ready to make any conclusive statements regarding motive at this time,” Rojek also said.