The FBI on Saturday identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect in an attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally. The suspect was shot and killed by the Secret Service after he allegedly opened fire toward the stage where Trump was delivering a speech in Butler, Pennsylvania. The FBI said it was working to determine a motive for the attack, which left one rally attendee dead and two other spectators seriously injured. Trump was shot in the ear.
State voter records show that Crooks was a registered Republican. The upcoming November 5 election will be the first time Crooks will be old enough to vote in a presidential race.
Crooks lived in Butler, about an hour from where the shooting happened. The Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday that it had closed the airspace over Bethel Park for “special safety reasons.”
According to a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing, when Crooks was 17, he donated $15 to a political action committee called ActBlue, which raises money for left-wing and Democratic politicians. The donation was earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that works to get Democrats out to vote. The groups did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN that he is trying to figure out what happened and will talk to law enforcement officials before saying anything about his son.
According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Thomas Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. He received a $500 “Star Award” from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to the newspaper.
Video of the 2022 graduation ceremony cited by The New York Times shows Crooks receiving his high school diploma amid some applause. Video of that ceremony posted online shows Crooks in a black graduation gown, wearing glasses and posing with a school official. Reuters could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the video. Law enforcement officials said on Saturday that Crooks carried no identification to the scene of the shooting and had to be identified by other means.
“We’re looking at the photographs right now and we’re trying to get biometric confirmation by checking his DNA,” FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek said during a press briefing.
Dozens of law enforcement vehicles were stationed outside the residence located at the address listed on Crooks’ voter registration records. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on scene and a bomb squad was at the residence, USA Today reported. The perimeter of the suspect’s residence was secured with yellow police caution tape on Sunday. An Allegany County police vehicle was parked outside.
“It’s crazy that anybody could do this,” Dan Maloney, 30, was quoted as saying by USA Today. Reuters could not immediately identify the crooks’ social media accounts or other online postings. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, did not immediately respond to a question about whether the platforms had removed any accounts linked to the suspect.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
