United States | Day of the jackals

What was the motive of Trump’s would-be assassin?

A frenzied media hunt is under way

Reporters speak to the a neighbour of the "subject involved", named as Thomas Crooks, in the assassination attempt of Donald Trump
Photograph: Reuters
|Bethel Park

BY 8.45AM, THE stretch of Milford Drive that was home to Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who shot at Donald Trump, is already host to a traffic jam. Outside the Crookses’ home, dozens of journalists are setting up camp. Five gazebos sit on the carefully manicured grass, providing shade to news anchors, dressed in jackets, ties and comfortable trainers. Not much is happening. The vibe is that of a pride of lions lolling in the midday sun. A Reuters photographer brags about getting the shot of the morning. “Somebody is closing the drapes… you can just see the hand. Think, the hand of God, Maradona,” he jokes.

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