(NewsNation) — The gunman who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump was “acting erratically” days before the July 13 rally where the shooting took place, the bipartisan congressional task force investigating the events learned in a classified briefing Friday morning.
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Louisiana, a member of the task force, spoke directly to NewsNation after a closed-door meeting with acting Secret Service Director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. Details about the plot to assassinate the former president revealed that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old shooter who police killed within seconds after he started firing, was acting strange and at times speaking to himself.
Higgins wants to speak with Crooks’ parents as an official part of the investigation.
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The task force’s chairman, Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., said the investigation has involved obtaining thousands of documents, conducting hours of briefings and taking trips to the site of the shooting.
Multiple members told NewsNation the investigation has shown major failures in security planning and communication on the day of the shooting.
“I don’t think the communication or the ‘get ready’ beforehand was as good as it should have been, so we’ll see as we go on, but we’re finding out more and more every day,” Kelly said. “And as I said earlier, the idea is not to get a quick answer, the idea is to get the right answer, and we’ll continue to do that.”
The congressional task force plans to release its full investigative report Dec. 13.
“It does appear as though there were numerous lapses and failures at every level, from securing the perimeter to ensuring communications occurring, to coordinating across local, state and federal law enforcement,” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said.
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The FBI is also conducting its own investigation into the assassination attempt. A motive for the shooting is still unclear.
Trump was in Butler, Pennsylvania, speaking at a presidential campaign rally July 13 until, just a few minutes in, shots were fired, striking him in the ear.
The Secret Service shot and killed the gunman, who was on a rooftop at a nearby building outside the perimeter of the rally.
The agency quickly became the subject of scrutiny, many questioning how the gunman was able to gain access up there. Ultimately, the Secret Service director at the time, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned.