FBI identifies suspect in Trump assassination attempt

The FBI has identified the man who shot Donald Trump during a campaign rally as Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks is believed to have opened fire as the former US president was addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, leaving one audience member dead and two others seriously injured.

The 20-year-old kitchen worker was shot and killed at the scene by a Secret Service sniper, authorities said.

In a statement, the FBI said Crooks was the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination of the former president and that an active investigation was underway.

Thomas Crooks was not carrying any identification, so investigators used DNA to identify him, the FBI said.

He was from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about 43 miles (70 kilometers) from the scene of the attempted murder, and graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School with a $500 award in math and science, according to a local newspaper.

Crooks worked in the kitchen of a local nursing home a short drive from her home, the BBC has learned.

State election records show he was registered as a Republican, according to US media. He is also reported to have donated $15 to the liberal campaign group ActBlue in 2021.

According to US media reports, Crooks was wearing a T-shirt from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel known for its content about weapons and demolitions. The channel has millions of subscribers and features videos about different weapons and explosive devices.

Law enforcement officials believe the gun used to shoot Donald Trump was purchased by Crook’s father, the Associated Press reports.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, two officials told AP that Crooks’ father purchased a gun at least six months ago.

The day after the shooting, police sources also told BBC’s US partner CBS that suspicious devices were found in Crooks’ vehicle.

According to CBS, the suspect had commercially available equipment that appeared capable of initiating the devices. Bomb technicians were called to the scene to secure and investigate the devices.

Having established Crooks’ identity, police and agencies are investigating his motive.

“We do not currently have an identified motive,” said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI in Pittsburgh, at a briefing Saturday night.

The investigation into what happened could last months and investigators will work “tirelessly” to identify Crooks’ motive, Rojek said.

Speaking to CNN, Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, said he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until he talks to the police” before speaking about his son. Police have closed off the road to the home where Crooks lived with his parents, CBS News reports.

A neighbor told CBS that officers evacuated her in the middle of the night without warning. Bethel Park police said there was a bomb investigation around Crooks’ home.

Access to the area remains tightly controlled, with police vehicles blocking roads. Only residents have been allowed in and out.
Law enforcement sources told CBS that they believe there was some level of planning prior to the shooting. The length of time that went into that planning, however, is still the subject of an ongoing investigation.

Police believe he acted alone, but are still investigating whether he was accompanied to the demonstration. Video obtained by US news outlet TMZ shows the gunman on a roof opening fire.

One person was killed and two others were injured in the shooting. All three victims are adult men and were in the audience, CBS News reports. Their names have not been made public. A GoFundMe page, organised by Trump campaign national finance director Meredith O’Rourke, was set up in the hours after the attack with donations earmarked for the families of the injured. It has so far raised more than $340,000 (£267,000).

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he was shot “with a bullet that went through the top of my right ear” and said he felt the bullet “go through the skin.”

Blood could be seen on Trump’s ear and face as he was quickly led away by security officers.

Trump is “doing well” and is grateful to law enforcement officers, according to a statement posted on the Republican National Committee (RNC) website.

A map showing the distance from which suspected gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump.

A witness told the BBC he saw a man, possibly Crooks, with a rifle on the roof of a building before Trump was shot.

The gunman opened fire with “an AR-style rifle,” CBS News reports.

Police sources also told CBS that a passerby reported him and police identified him as a suspicious person, but that officers lost track of him before the shooting began.

However, the FBI says it did not immediately know what type of firearm the gunman used or how many shots he fired.

A Secret Service sniper returned fire and killed the gunman, the agency said.

Subsequent footage shows armed officers approaching a body on the roof of the building.

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