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FBI identifies Thomas Matthew Crooks as suspect in shooting at Trump rally

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The FBI named 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspected shooter in an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

The Secret Service said its agents “neutralized” the shooter, who is now dead. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he was “struck by a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” One bystander was killed and two others were critically injured.

(Video: Washington Post)

Relatively little is known about Crooks, but in the coming hours and days, media and law enforcement will be digging deep into his background and possible motives. Here’s what we do know.

Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks?

Crooks was 20 years old and from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles south of Butler, the site of the Trump rally on Saturday night, the FBI said.

A certain Thomas Crooks is named in a local media outlet’s list of Bethel Park High School graduates of 2022 and is one of 20 students who received a $500 math and science award from the school this year. Bethel Park High School did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Sunday.

According to Pennsylvania voter records, Crooks was registered as a Republican.

Heavy police presence, state police helicopters and an empty venue after the shooting at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Video: Reuters)

What do we know about the investigation?

The suspected gunman used an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in the attack, said a U.S. official and another person familiar with the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the early stages of the investigation.

After identifying the suspect, the FBI said the investigation “remains active and ongoing” and urged anyone with relevant information to come forward to the agency.

In an early evening press conference, Kevin Rojek, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Pittsburgh, said the agency did not yet know the shooter’s motive. “Our investigators are working tirelessly to determine what the motive was,” he said before Crooks’ identity was announced.

When asked whether the shooter acted alone, Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said it was “too early to say.”

“It will take some time before we can definitively answer this question,” he added.

Bivens described a “chaotic” scene at the rally after shots were fired in Trump’s direction as he spoke on the rally stage. He said federal and local authorities were working together to interview witnesses and investigate the scene.

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