On Wednesday evening the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) released images of Donald Trump’s failed assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks’ firearm and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to Fox News.
The image of the firearm shows an AR-15 simi-auto rifle, chambered in the usual 5.56 / .223 caliber, equipped with a single Picatinny rail atop the hand guard and receiver, a red-dot sight and peculiarly, mounted rear of the ejection port, what appears to be a side-mounted rear iron-sight paired with a side-mounted front iron-sight mounted directly aft of the basic-looking muzzle device.
The inclusion of the uncommon side-mounted sights indicate that Crooks either used, or intended to use the rifle sideways with it’s right side up, likely to project a lower profile when firing in the prone position atop the roof he was perched upon.
The magazine was removed in the image and a chunk was missing on the adjustable-length buttstock where a counter-sniper’s round impacted it. Note that the buttstock is extended in this image.
In a second image, the firearm is disassembled and the buttstock is no longer extended and the end of the buffer tube is visible through the buttstock’s missing chunk, showing that when the counter-sniper’s round impacted Crooks’ rifle (when he was using it) the buttstock was in the extended position as the buffer tube appears undamaged by the impact.
The inclusion of the backpack shows viewers how the disassembled rifle was able to fit into it, as it is not a folding stock rifle. AR-style rifles utilize a buffer tube at the rear of the receiver making them not conducive for folding stocks. A buffer tube is not present on AK-style rifles, allowing for folding stock mechanisms.
Perhaps the most peculiar image however is one that the FBI released of Crooks’ car’s trunk, showing what is allegedly an IED.
