Gun Store Linked To Thomas Crooks' Ammo Purchase Suspected In Additional Crimes

The FBI is continuing its investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks was shot and killed at the scene moments after firing rounds at the former President.

Although Trump survived the shooting, one bystander was killed, and two others were left in critical condition, both of whom are expected to survive.

Thomas Matthew Crooks used an AR-style rifle, which was recovered at the scene and later identified as being registered to Crooks' father, and purchased 50 rounds of ammunition allegedly at Allegheny Arms & Gun Works just hours before the shooting.

According to ABC News, Crooks allegedly asked his father to borrow his AR-15-style rifle under the pretext of going to a shooting range. A source told the outlet that the father had occasionally allowed Crooks to use the semiautomatic firearm for target shooting, so he didn't find anything unusual when he allowed him to use the rifle again on Saturday--the same day of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Law enforcement recently visited local gun shops in the Pittsburgh area to gather information about Crooks' ammunition purchasing habits, including both in-store and online transactions. One of the shops being looked into is Allegheny Arms & Gun Works in Bethel Park, located roughly a mile from Crooks' home.

The gun store where Crooks allegedly bought ammunition before the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has a history of selling firearms that have turned up at crime scenes.

In letters from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), obtained by NewsWeek, it was revealed that Allegheny Arms & Gun Works, located in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, sold over 75 guns between 2021 and 2023 that were later recovered at various crime scenes.

The owner of the store has neither confirmed nor denied whether Crooks bought ammunition there, and it remains unclear if Crooks used the ammunition he allegedly purchased on Saturday during the attack.

The ATF noted in letters that the store had previously been linked to weaponry used in criminal activity, per Newsweek. In 2021, 2022, and 2023, Allegheny Arms & Gun Works received an ATF Demand Letter 2 (DL2) requesting its participation in a program in which certain stores are asked to provide data from their inventories about the types of guns they have sold to assist the agency in tracing secondhand firearms.

Per the outlet, the ATF sends DL2s to gun dealers that have had 25 or more firearms traced to them in the previous calendar year with a "time-to-crime" of three years or less. For those unaware, "time-to-crime" refers to the period it takes for a gun to move from the retailer to a crime scene. On average, this duration is ten years.

One letter to Allegheny Arms stated: "ATF is requesting your continued participation in the Demand 2 Program because our records indicate that, in calendar year 2021, twenty-five or more crime guns with a 'time-to-crime' of three years or less were traced through the above-mentioned FFL [federal firearms licensee]."

Bruce Piendl, the owner of Allegheny Arms, previously released a statement, saying, "As a responsible member of our community, it is our prerogative to cooperate with law enforcement in every way. We are thankful that President Trump was not assassinated, and our hearts go out to all victims of this horrible incident.

"Out of respect for the ongoing investigation and that of those affected, we will not make any further statements."

Authorities have stated that the federal investigation into the attempted assassination of the former president is still working to determine the suspected gunman's motives.

"The FBI has not identified a motive for the shooter's actions, but we are working to determine the sequence of events and the shooter's movements prior to the shooting, collecting and reviewing evidence, conducting interviews, and following up on all leads," the bureau said in the statement.

Officials also said, "We cannot rule out the possibility that some DVEs or other actors may attempt follow-on or retaliatory acts of violence in response to this assassination attempt." DVE is an abbreviation for "Domestic Violent Extremism."