The FBI has identified the gunman who carried out an assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a rally, in a terrifying incident that left one spectator dead and another two fighting for their lives.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire while the former president was speaking on stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
Multiple shots were fired towards the stage, and Trump was rushed off by law enforcement with blood visibly streaming from his ear.
Later on Truth Social, Trump confirmed that one of the bullets had struck him in the ear.
The Secret Service said the gunman was shot and killed at the scene.
In a press conference after the shooting, authorities said that they were using the shooter’s DNA for biometric confirmation as he was carrying no identification at the time of the attack.
Early on Sunday morning, the FBI identified him as Crooks.
Many questions remain about the gunman’s motive and how he was able to carry out the attack at a rally where the former president was flanked by Secret Service protection.
Here’s what we know so far about the gunman:
Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks?
Crooks, 20, lived in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, located around 56km south of where Trump was holding his rally.
Local media reported that Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, and received a $500 “star award” that year from the National Math and Science Initiative.
Crooks was registered to vote as a Republican, according to listings in Pennsylvania’s voter database that matched his name, age, and address linked to his public records, CNN reported.
However, federal campaign finance reports show that he had made a $15 contribution to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called Progressive Turnout Project on 20 January 2021, the report added.
Law enforcement officials said that Crooks fired from an elevated shed outside the perimeter on Saturday, around 200 feet to 300 feet away from the podium where Trump was.
He reportedly used an AR-15-type semi-automatic rifle in the attack.
It is currently unclear if Crooks legally owned the firearm used in the shooting.
Crooks’ father Matthew Crooks told CNN he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” when reached for comment after the shooting.
He added that he would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking out about his son.
There are currently no clues yet as to Crooks’ motive for the attack, which is being treated as an “assassination attempt”.
“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,” the FBI said in a statement.
A witness, identified only as Greg, said that he tried to alert Secret Service agents to a rifle-wielding man he spotted “bear crawling” onto the roof of a nearby building before gunshots rang through the crowd.
“We’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof. We could clearly see him with a rifle,” he told the BBC.
“I’m standing there pointing at him for two to three minutes. Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn, I’m pointing at the roof…and next thing you know, five shots rang out,” he added.
Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said they were still reviewing the security detail the Secret Service had in place and confirmed that officials only discovered Crooks was on the roof when he began firing, raising questions about security lapses.
“We’re still working through the security apparatus that the Secret Service had in place, what potentially happened,” he said.
“There’s going to be a long investigation into exactly what took place and how the individual was able to get access to the location, what type of weapon he had. All that is really days, weeks, and months of investigation.”
In remarks from Delaware, president Joe Biden said that “there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick.”