From Reuters, BBC
Photo: AFP / HANDOUT
The FBI identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania as the suspect in Saturday's attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump at a campaign rally.
The suspect was shot and killed by the Secret Service seconds after he allegedly fired shots toward a stage where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The FBI said it was working to determine a motive for the attack, in which one rally attendee died and two other spectators were critically injured. Trump was shot in the ear.
Donald Trump, bleeding from the ear, is taken away from the scene by Secret Service agents. Photo: TAKAYUKI FUCHIGAMI
State voter records show that Crooks was a registered Republican. The upcoming 5 November election would have been the first time Crooks had been old enough to vote in a presidential race.
Crooks lived about an hour away from where the shooting took place in Butler. The Federal Aviation Administration said on Sunday that it closed the airspace over Bethel Park for "special security reasons."
People watch a Fox News channel in front of Fox News building in Manhattan after the former US president Donald Trump was injured during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Photo: AFP / Nur Photo
When Crooks was 17 he made a $15 donation to ActBlue, a political action committee that raises money for left-leaning and Democratic politicians, according to a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing. The donation was earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that rallies Democrats to vote.
The groups did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
'Acted alone'
FBI officials said on Sunday (Monday NZT) that the shooter acted alone.
The agency said it had yet to identify an ideology linked to the suspect or any indications of mental health issues or found any threatening language on the suspect's social media accounts, Reuters reported.
The BBC reported Crooks was was a member of a local Pennsylvania gun club in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, roughly 80km from where the assassination attempt occurred.
Clairton Sportsmen's Club president Bill Sellitto told CBS News (the BBC's US partner): "We can confirm that Mr Crooks was a member of the Clairton Sportsmen's Club.
"Beyond that, the club is unable to make any additional commentary in relation to this matter in light of pending law enforcement investigations."
Selitto said the club "fully admonishes the senseless act of violence" and offers its "sincerest condolences" to the victims.
Crooks' father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN that he was trying to figure out what happened and would wait until he spoke to law enforcement before speaking about his son.
Thomas Crooks graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He received a $500 "star award" from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to the newspaper.
A 2022 graduation ceremony video cited by the New York Times shows Crooks receiving his high school diploma to some applause. Video from that ceremony posted online shows Crooks with glasses in a black graduation gown and posing with a school official. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the video.
Law enforcement officials said on Saturday that Crooks carried no identification to the site of the shooting and had to be identified using other methods.
"We're looking at photographs right now and we're trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation," Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge, said during a press briefing.
Law enforcement agents at the scene of the shooting. Photo: AFP
USA Today reported that dozens of law enforcement vehicles were stationed outside a residence listed at the address on Crooks' voter registration record. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene and a bomb squad was at the residence, USA Today reported.
The FBI has identified the gunman who shot and wounded Trump as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Crooks was killed by law enforcement moments after he opened fire. https://t.co/a2RPx96KyR pic.twitter.com/CSb208NQAB
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) July 14, 2024
The perimeter of the residence of the suspect was guarded on Sunday by yellow police caution tape. An Alleghany County Police vehicle was parked outside.
"It's insanity that anyone would do this," Dan Maloney, a 30-year-old resident from the area was quoted as saying by USA Today.
Reuters could not immediately identify social media accounts or other online postings by Crooks. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, did not immediately respond to questions on whether the platforms had removed any accounts related to the suspect.
- Reuters / BBC
