15 Jul 2024

What we know about Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected Trump rally shooter

11:15 am on 15 July 2024

From Reuters, BBC

An undated image obtained 14 July, 2024 shows a driver's license photograph of Thomas Matthew Crooks,the suspected shooter of former US President Donald Trump. Donald Trump said that it was divine intervention that helped him survive an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on 13 July, 2024 and called on Americans to unite. (Photo by HANDOUT / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /   HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

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.

U. S. Republican presidential candidate former President Donald is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. The former president suffered a gunshot wound to his ear after a suspect fired gunshots at his Pennsylvania rally and he survived the assassination attempt. According to the law official, the suspected shooter was killed by the Secret Service. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun ) (Photo by Takayuki Fuchigami / Yomiuri / The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP)

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 Fox News channel in front of Fox News building in Manhattan after the former U.S. President Donald Trump has been injured during shooting at campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania. New York, United States of America on July 13th, 2024. The suspected shooter was killed and another rally attendee was dead.

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.

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 13: Law enforcement agents stand near the stage of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. According to Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, the suspected gunman is dead after injuring former President Trump, killing one audience member and injuring at least one other.   Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

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 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

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