Report: Gunman's Father Called Cops Before Rally Attack

Hours before Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to kill Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, the 20-year-old's father called police, sources say. The sources tell outlets including Fox News and CBS News that Crooks' father told police his son was missing and he was concerned about his whereabouts. It's not clear whether Crooks' parents knew he was in possession of an AR-15-style rifle that belonged to his father, Fox reports.

The BBC describes the call as "one of a number of red flags" ahead of the Saturday shooting. Local police raised suspicions about Crooks more than an hour before the shooting, but local officers and the Secret Service repeatedly lost track of him. Reuters reports that while a clear picture of the timeline leading up to the shooting has emerged in recent days, his motive remains a mystery. Investigators say he searched online for Trump and Biden events, and for "major depressive disorder."

The FBI says the gunman's parents are cooperating with the investigation. Records show that both Crooks' parents are social workers, reports Reuters. Crooks was a registered Republican, while his father is a Libertarian and his mother is a Democrat, according to registration records. Channel 4 reports that a 2016 Trump campaign database of voters in battleground states found that both Crooks' parents were very likely to be gun owners, with father Matthew Crooks among the 20 highest-scoring individuals among more than 19,000 people in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. (More Trump rally shooting stories.)