- FBI identifies Trump rally shooter
- Crooks fired AR-style weapon at Trump
- Secret Service sniper killed Crooks
The small Pittsburgh neighbourhood of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is reeling after the FBI identified a young local man, Thomas Matthew Crooks, as the person who shot at Donald Trump during a campaign rally, shocking the country.
Investigators suspect Crooks, equipped with an AR-style weapon, opened fire on the former president when he was addressing a gathering in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one and badly injuring two others.
A Secret Service sniper shot and killed the 20-year-old kitchen worker on the scene, according to officials.
In his tranquil and well-to-do community, however, locals are stunned, seemingly unable to comprehend how a quiet young man is now accused of the massacre.
The FBI, for its part, has simply stated that Crooks was the “subject involved in the assassination attempt on the former president” and that an active investigation was ongoing.
Who fired at Donald Trump?
Thomas Crooks was not carrying identification, so authorities utilized DNA to identify him, according to the FBI.
He was from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, around 70 kilometres (43 miles) from the attempted assassination site. He graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 and received a $500 math and science prize, according to a local newspaper.
Crooks worked at a local nursing home kitchen, just a short distance from his home.
According to US media, state voting records reveal he was a registered Republican.
He is also said to have contributed $15 to the liberal political group ActBlue in 2021.
According to US media accounts, Crooks wore a T-shirt from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel known for its gun and demolition content. The channel has millions of subscribers and features videos about various guns and explosive devices.
According to the Associated Press, law enforcement officials believe Crook’s father purchased the handgun used to kill Donald Trump.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, two cops informed the Associated Press that Crooks’ father purchased a handgun at least six months ago.
The day after the shooting, law enforcement sources told CBS that Crooks’ truck contained suspicious devices.
According to CBS, the suspect possessed commercially accessible equipment to activate the devices.
Bomb technicians were dispatched to the scene to secure and examine the devices.
What was his motivation?
After establishing Crooks’ identity, police and authorities are looking into his motivation.
“We do not currently have an identified motive,” said Kevin Rojek, the FBI Pittsburgh special agent in charge, during a briefing on Saturday night.
Mr Rojek stated that investigating what happened could take months and that detectives would work “tirelessly” to determine Crooks’ motivation.
Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN that he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before commenting on his son.
According to CBS News, police have blocked off the road leading to Crooks’ home with his parents.
A neighbour told CBS that authorities evacuated her in the middle of the night without notice.
According to Bethel Park Police, a bomb investigation is ongoing near Crooks’ home.
Access to the region still needs to be improved. Police cars block the roadways, and only residents have been permitted in and out.
Law enforcement officials informed CBS that they believe there was some planning before the shooting.
However, the time spent on such planning is still being investigated.
Police believe he acted alone but are still investigating if he was accompanied to the rally.
Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks?
So far, a confused – and sometimes contradictory – portrait of Crooks’ personality has emerged.
Some young people who attended school with him characterized him as a loner who was constantly ridiculed and occasionally wore “hunting outfits to school,” according to local news channel KDKA.
Summer Barkley, a former student, saw him differently, claiming that he was “always getting good grades on tests” and was “very passionate about history”.
He claimed to be knowledgeable about government and history. But there was nothing out of the ordinary—he was always pleasant.
Others merely recall him as silent.
He was present, but I can’t think of anyone who knew him well save for one former classmate who requested anonymity. He’s just not a guy that I think about, but he appeared fine.
Jameson Myers, a former Bethel Park High School varsity rifle team member who graduated with Crooks in 2022, told CBS he did not make the team.
Mr. Myers noted that despite trying out, he did not make the junior varsity squad. He did not return to tryouts for the rest of high school.
Mr. Myers describes Crooks as a “normal boy” who was “not particularly popular but never got picked on or anything.”
“He was a nice kid who never talked poorly of anyone and I never have thought him capable of anything I’ve seen him do in the last few days.”
Other community residents expressed disbelief that the alleged shooter could have come from Bethel Park’s peaceful, leafy streets.
Among them was Jason Mackey, a 27-year-old resident who lives near the Crooks’ home and formerly worked at the school.
While Mr Mackey denied knowing Crooks personally, he is still in shock.
“It’s very shocking. “You wouldn’t expect an event of this magnitude to occur in your backyard,” he remarked. “It’s just a crazy situation.”
Did he hit anybody?
The shooting left one person dead and two others injured.
CBS News reports that all three casualties are adult men who were in the audience.
At a press conference on Sunday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro named the deceased person as Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer fire chief who was murdered when he “dived on his family” to defend them.
He stated that Comperatore “died a hero”.
Meredith O’Rourke, the Trump campaign’s national finance director, set up a GoFundMe page in the hours following the incident. Donations went to the families of those injured.
It has now raised more than $340,000 (£267,000).
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated that he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear” and felt the bullet “ripping through the skin”.
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Blood was spotted on Trump’s ear and face as security agents rushed him away.
According to a statement on the Republican National Committee (RNC) website, Trump is “doing well” and expresses gratitude to law enforcement.
How far was the suspected shooter from Donald Trump?
Before Trump was shot, one witness saw a man with a rifle on the roof of a building, whom he believed was Crooks.
TMZ received video footage that shows the moment the shooting began.
According to CBS News, the assailant fired “an AR-style rifle”.
According to law enforcement officials, he was reported by a bystander and identified as a suspect by police, but officers lost track of him before the shooting began.
However, the FBI stated that it did not immediately know what type of handgun was used or how many shots were fired.
A Secret Service sniper returned fire, killing the gunman, according to the agency.
Later in the footage, armed officers approach a body on the building’s roof.
