Who is Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20-year-old man pinpointed by FBI as shooter at Trump rally?
The FBI has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel, Pennsylvania as the subject involved in the assassination attempt at the rally that Donald Trump was at in Pennsylvania.
Crooks was reportedly a resident of Bethel Park.
FBI investigations are ongoing, and no motive has been established or revealed so far.
Here’s what is known about him for now.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was Republican
According to information gleaned from the US Department of State records, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was a registered Republican and born on 20 September 2003.
However, WION reported that he once donated US$15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, which is a liberal voter turnout group, through ActBlue, a Democratic donation platform.
The donation was made on 20 January 2021 when President incumbent Joe Biden was sworn into office. This information is available in a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing.
According to Reuters, Crooks reportedly graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School.
A video of him purportedly shows him at a graduation ceremony.
He had received a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Though images and videos purportedly of Crooks exist online, it is unclear if they belong to him.
At least one video is circulating of someone purporting to be Crooks and claiming he “hates Trumps and Republicans”. However this cannot be verified presently.
Believed to have acted alone
At present, Crooks is the only shooter who’s been identified.
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bevins said: “It’s too early to make that call (as to whether there was more than one shooter). We have tentatively identified one shooter, but our investigation continues. We’re following numerous leads, and it will take some time before we can conclusively determine if there was only one gunman.”
He was about 150 to 200 yards away from the stage, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Officials at a press conference said they needed to do DNA testing because the suspected shooter did not have identification on him, WION reported.
“It’s a matter of doing biometric confirmations, so there was no identification on the individual for example, so we’re looking at photographs right now and we’re trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation,” officials said.
Officials retrieved an AR-style rifle from the scene. Crooks had fired it about seven to eight times before he was “neutralised” by Secret Service officers.
He was allegedly wearing a grey Demolition Ranch T-shirt. It is associated with a firearms YouTube channel that boasts 11.6 million subscribers.
1 dead, 2 critically injured after shooting
Former United States President Donald Trump was speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania today (Singapore time) when several gunshots rang out.
He fell to the ground while Secret Service security staff swarmed the stage and rushed him out of the area.
Donald Trump shot at during rally in Pennsylvania: 5 things you need to know
A bullet had grazed Trump’s right ear.
One man was said to have died after a gunshot wound to the head, while another two were critically injured.
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Featured image adapted from VINNews and X.
