Former US President Donald Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday, sending shockwaves across the country, just hours after which the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the killer as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
“The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the individual involved in the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania,” the FBI said in a statement.
The investigating agency has now released a photo of the attacker. In the photo, the 20-year-old attacker is seen wearing glasses and smiling at the camera.
Crooks was shot by Secret Service snipers after he fired several rounds from a nearby rooftop at the former US President who was present at the rally. Witnesses claimed that he had tried to warn security officials about a man who was roaming from a nearby rooftop and lying on his stomach with a gun pointed towards the rally.
An assault rifle, an AR-15, was found near his body.
Described as a “quiet, solitary” student, Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, and received a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative.
As a registered Republican, the upcoming Nov. 5 election will be the first time he will vote in a presidential election.
His classmates described him as “socially shy” and did not remember him ever discussing politics or Trump, but said he was often bullied at school. “He was quiet, but he got bullied. He got bullied a lot,” one student told local US media.
After graduation he was working in a nursing home.
Following the attack, a “suspicious device” was found inside his car, which is now being examined by bomb technicians. Officers are now examining his phone.
The attack on Sunday was a devastating blow for Trump, who is currently trying to be re-elected as President of the United States. Video shows the leader’s life was saved by ducking his head at the last second as the bullet grazed his ear.
A video showed the 78-year-old Republican leader covered in blood as he was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents after the attack, with blood on his face. He was seen with his fists clenched and chanting “Fight! Fight!”
