The FBI says it has identified the man who shot at Donald Trump during a campaign rally as Thomas Matthew Crooks. The 20-year-old was shot dead after he is alleged to have opened fire at the former president during a rally in Pennsylvania.
The 20-year-old is alleged to have opened fire at the former president as he gave a speech in Pennsylvania. The attack left one member of the crowd dead and two others badly injured.
A Secret Service sniper then shot dead Crooks, officials said. According to sources Crooks was stationed on the roof of a manufacturing plant more than 130 yards (500 meters )away from the stage where Trump was adddresssing crowds in the town of Butler.
Reports say Crooks’ body was later seen covered in blood on the roof. Trump was treated at a hospital before being discharged and flying back to New Jersey that evening.
The FBI officially confirmed Crooks as the ‘subject involved’ in the attack on Trump on Sunday morning. Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge said during a press briefing: “We’re looking at photographs right now and we’re trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation.”
Crooks has been described as a ‘lone wolf’, although the FBI has maintained that its investigation into his background and motivations is still ongoing. He is thought to have used an AR-style rifle to shoot Trump, which was later recovered by officers after he was shot dead.
Crooks was from Bethel Park – a village in Pennsylvania around 40 miles south of where the Butler rally was being held. While the incident is being treated as an assassination attempt by the FBI, a motive is yet to be established.
According to state voting records reported in the American media, Crooks is a Republican voter. Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN that before speaking about his son, he was trying to figure out what happened and would wait until he spoke to law enforcement.
The former president took to social media platform Truth Social to share further details on his injuries. He said: “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.
“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”
