Investigators used Cellebrite’s tech to unlock the phone of Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel, Pennsylvania, who opened fire at a Trump rally in nearby Butler on Saturday. Crooks, who used an assault rifle legally purchased by his father 11 years prior, killed one person and critically injured two, and one of his bullets grazed the Republican candidate’s right ear. A US Secret Service sniper shot and killed Crooks on the spot.
The shooter’s phone was recovered from his body and was cracked to help determine his motive, which remains elusive. Investigators are considering the possibility that Crooks used two phones, after discovering a phone with a dead battery at his home in Bethel Park, where he lived with his parents, the Post reported.
People familiar with the investigation were quoted as saying that cracking Crooks’ phone provided investigators with some leads but did not immediately yield “derogatory information” — signs of criminal links or plans.
The phone was reportedly a relatively new model, which can be more difficult for law enforcement to open. The Pittsburgh FBI office, which did not have Cellebrite’s technology, sent the phone to the FBI office in Quantico, Virginia, where agents were able to crack open the phone within 40 minutes using the technology, the report said. READ MORE
The paper noted that phone cracking can take months in many federal investigations. In this case, opening Crooks’ phone was an urgent priority for both the FBI and Cellebrite, according to the people familiar with the investigation.