Thomas Matthew Crooks, a young man from the small Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, has been named by the FBI as the man who shocked the nation by shooting Donald Trump on the campaign trail. .
Investigators believe Crook, armed with an AR-style rifle, opened fire on the former president as he addressed a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one audience member and critically wounding two others.
The twenty-year-old kitchen worker was shot dead at the scene by a Secret Service sniper, officials said.
However, in his quiet and well-to-do hometown, neighbors are in shock, seemingly unable to understand how a quiet young man has now been accused of a shooting.
The FBI, for its part, said only that Crooks was “involved in the assassination of the former president and an active investigation was underway.”
Who shot Donald Trump?
Thomas Crooks did not have an identification card, so investigators used DNA to identify him, the FBI said.
According to a local newspaper, he was from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the site of the assassination attempt, and had received a $500 scholarship for math and science from Bethel Park High School in 2022. Graduated with honors.
State voter records show he was a registered Republican, according to US media.
He also donated $15 in 2021 to the liberal campaign group ActBlue.
According to United States Media reports, Crooks was wearing a T-shirt from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel known for its guns and demolition content. The channel has millions of subscribers and shows videos on various guns and explosive devices.
According to a report by the Associated Press News Agency, law enforcement officials believe that the weapon used to shoot Donald Trump was purchased by Kroc’s father.
Who Was Thomas Matthew Crooks?
Until now, a vague – and sometimes contradictory – picture has emerged of who Crook was as a person.
Another former classmate of his, Summer Barclay, cast him differently, stating that he was “always getting good grades on tests” and “very passionate about history”.
He said he knew everything he knew about government and history. “But it was nothing out of the ordinary…. He was always nice.”
Others remembered it simply as silence.
A witness said he saw a man — believed to be Crooks — on the roof of a building with a rifle before Trump was shot.
Law enforcement sources also said he was tipped off by a passerby and police identified him as a suspicious person, but the officer lost track of him before the shooting began.
However, the FBI said it did not immediately know what type of firearm was used or how many shots were fired.
The agency said a Secret Service sniper returned fire and killed the gunman.
Later footage shows armed officers approaching a body on the roof of a building.