Online account thought to belong to Trump shooter was fake, source says

A new analysis shows an online account that was believed to belong to the shooter in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump — and where he had purportedly called the date of the attack his “premiere” — was fake, a federal law enforcement official told CBS News on Thursday.

A law enforcement official and an additional source familiar with a briefing given to U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday previously told CBS News that the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, had an account on an online gaming platform on which he posted: “July 13 will be my premiere.” But the federal law enforcement official says further investigation determined it was a fake account.

That comes as investigators continue to seek a motive for the shooting.

The 20-year-old gunman, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from the roof of a building near the rally, hitting Trump in the right ear. One attendee, Corey Comperatore, 50, was fatally struck. Two other attendees, James Copenhaver, 74, and David Dutch, 57, were injured.

Read more: CBS News