The gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday night has been identified and his background revealed.
The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Penn., but officials released no additional information about him.
His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” the F.B.I. said in a statement early Sunday.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The attack was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981 as he was leaving a speech in Washington, DC, and walking to his motorcade.
John Hinckley Jr., who was in the crowd, was the attempted assassin.
Reagan recovered from the March 1981 shooting. Three other people were shot, including his press secretary, James Brady, who was partially paralyzed as a result.
An infographic illustrates how former U.S. President Donald Trump was hit in his right ear and is fine following a deadly shooting at his rally in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. (Yasin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The F.B.I noted the gunman in the attempt on Trump’s life did not have a criminal history reflected in Pennsylvania’s public court records. Officials said they had not identified a motive.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News that Crooks had been armed with “an AR-style rifle.”
In a statement, the F.B.I. said:
“The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania. 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 at FBI.gov/butler or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
Special Agent Kevin Rojek, the FBI officer in charge, said Crooks had been identified using DNA as he was not carrying any ID.
When Crooks was 17 he 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 seen by Reuters.
The donation was earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that rallies Democrats to vote. The groups did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
At the time of the donation, Crooks was 17-years-old. He registered to vote on turning 18 in September of that same year as a member of the GOP, records seen by the New York Post show.
State voter records detail Crooks was a registered Republican. The upcoming Nov. 5 election would have been the first time Crooks had been old enough to vote in a presidential race.
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C-SPANAs per Lt. Col. George Bevins of the Pennsylvania State Police via NBC addressing motives of the shooter, “It’s too soon to determine that. We have provisionally identified one shooter, but our investigation is ongoing. We are following multiple leads, and it will be some time before we can definitively state if it was the act of a single gunman.”
The suspect was shot dead at the scene by U.S. Secret Service officers, the agency’s spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said. He added one bystander was killed in the shooting and two others were critically injured.
Officials later revealed that all three victims were male.
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