The FBI has named Bethel Park, Pennsylvania resident Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, as a suspect in the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump on Saturday during a campaign event.
Shortly after he allegedly fired bullets toward a stage where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania, the suspect was shot and killed by the Secret Service.
One rally participant died and two more bystanders suffered serious injuries in the attack, according to the FBI, which claimed it was investigating the act’s motivation. Trump sustained an ear shot.
According to state voter records, Crooks was a Republican voter. For Crooks, the impending election on November 5 would have been his first presidential election as an eligible voter.
Crooks lived in Butler, roughly an hour’s drive from the shooting scene. The airspace over Bethel Park was blocked, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday, for “special security reasons.”
According to a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing, Crooks donated $15 to ActBlue, a political action organization that supports Democratic and left-leaning politicians, when he was just 17 years old. The Progressive Turnout Project, a nationwide organization that mobilizes Democrats to vote, was the designated recipient of the donation. An inquiry for comment from Reuters was not immediately answered by the organizations.
Matthew Crooks, 53, the father of Crooks, told CNN that he was investigating what had transpired and that he would not discuss his son with law authorities until after meeting with them.
Thomas Crooks, as reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, received his diploma from Bethel Park High School in 2022. The newspaper said that he was given a $500 “star award” by the National Math and Science Initiative.
The New York Times cited a video from a 2022 graduation ceremony that shows Crooks accepting his high school diploma amid some cheers. Crooks wearing spectacles and a black graduation gown can be seen posing with a school official in an internet video from the ceremony. Reuters was unable to confirm the video’s legitimacy right away. Law enforcement officials stated on Saturday that Crooks needed to be recognized by alternative means because he did not bring any identification to the crime scene.
“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.
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.
