The FBI has identified the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old resident of Bethel Park. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, with officials yet to determine a motive for the attack.
Crooks, who had no prior criminal history according to Pennsylvania’s public court records, was registered as a Republican. However, campaign-finance records show that he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberal voter turnout group, through the Democratic donation platform ActBlue in January 2021.
Law enforcement officers have closed off roads leading to Crooks’ family home in Bethel Park, where numerous relatives have not responded to requests for comment. The suspect was killed after firing shots from an elevated position outside the outdoor rally venue, as confirmed by the Secret Service. An AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle was recovered near the body of a white man believed to be the gunman.
Crooks appears to have graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, receiving a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative. A recording of the graduation ceremony shows Crooks crossing the stage to modest applause, dressed in a black graduation gown and wearing glasses.
