PUNCH
Following an attempt on the life of former United States President Donald Trump at a political rally on Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Pennsylvania, authorities have identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks.
“Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania,” USA Today quoted the Federal Bureau of Investigation as saying in a statement on Sunday.
The bureau added, “This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is encouraged to submit photos or videos online.”
During his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump – the Republican candidate for the upcoming November 5, 2024, presidential election, was shot at and the Secret Service agents quickly rushed him off the stage into an SUV.
The gunman and a bystander were killed at the rally, while two spectators were critically wounded.
The Service said the shooter “fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside the rally” before being “neutralised” by agents, AFP reports.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realised then what was happening,” Trump narrated after the incident.
After being killed at the scene, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, Kevin Rojek, said Crooks had no means of identification on him, so agents had to “run his DNA and get biometric confirmation,” CNN reports.
Here are five things known about Crooks:
- Crooks graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- State voter records revealed that Crooks was a registered Republican, Reuters said.
- Crooks lived about an hour away from where the shooting took place in Butler.
- When he was 17, Crooks 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.
- Crooks received a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review stated.
When reached by CNN on Saturday night, the shooter’s father, Matthew Crooks, said he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking about his son.
A resident who lives down the road from Crooks’, John Wolf said he was in contact with other worried neighbours, saying, “People are scared.”
