Trump gunman identified as suspicious well before shooting

livemint.com:

WASHINGTON—Police were suspicious of Donald Trump’s attempted assassin on Saturday more than an hour before the attack, according to private law enforcement briefings provided to House and Senate lawmakers. Wednesday’s briefings, given by top U.S. officials, offered some of the most detailed information to date on what happened in the run-up to the shooting at a campaign rally in western Pennsylvania.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.) said gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified as suspicious around 5 p.m., more than an hour before the shooting. “They said that he had a backpack and what they classified as a range finder," Mullin said.

“They did lose him," Mullin said, “because they said they were actively looking for him for 19 minutes before the shots rang out." Crooks “was observed pretty far in advance of him shooting," said Rep. Gary Palmer (R., Ala.), a member of the House Oversight Committee. “They saw someone engaged in suspicious activity." Lawmakers also were told Crooks had scouted the rally site multiple times in advance—and that a motive remained unclear.

“They’re still evaluating the evidence that they’ve gathered," Palmer said and noted they described the shooter as “quiet, a loner." Crooks used several encrypted platforms that officials haven’t been able to access, another person familiar with the briefing said. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and FBI Director Christopher Wray were among the officials who provided the information. Sen.

Rick Scott (R., Fla.) said after the briefing that law-enforcement officials should be more forthcoming with the information they have. “The Biden administration can’t wait until the investigation is complete to release details," he said. “It needs to start