FBI director says Trump attacker flew drone in area of assassination attempt

The 20-year-old who attempted shoot Donald Trump during a campaign rally had a drone flown over the area about two hours before the former U.S. president began his speech, FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed Wednesday.

The head of the federal law enforcement agency testified before a special congressional committee and said the investigation into the incident recorded on July 13 had not yet been able to determine the motive that led the man to commit the attack.

Wray maintained that Thomas Matthew Crooks performed a drone flight over the event area for about 11 minutes between 3:50 p.m. and 4 p.m. local time on the day of the shooting, passing within about 600 feet of the stage where Trump was scheduled to speak.

Crooks opened fire on Trump with an AR-15-style assault rifle shortly after 6 p.m. local time while the Republican candidate for the White House was addressing the audience at a campaign rally in the town of Butler, Pa.

He was positioned on the roof of a nearby building and was gunned down by a U.S. Secret Service sniper less than 30 seconds after firing his first shots.

Trump was hit on his right ear and was immediately evacuated. Two rally attendees were seriously wounded. and a 50-year-old Pennsylvania firefighter was killed by the gunfire.

According to the head of the FBI, the drone and its remote control were found in the attacker's car.

Also, two "relatively crude" explosive devices were found in the car and one more at Crooks' residence.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle came under heavy criticism and eventually resigned on Tuesday, a day after acknowledging that her agency had failed in its mission to prevent the attack.