Gunman in Trump’s assassination attempt identified as 20-year-old Republican from Pennsylvania

The FBI identified the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump on Saturday as Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

Crooks turned 20 on Sept. 20. State voter records show he had been a registered Republican since Sept. 28, 2021.

Federal records show Crooks donated $15 to the left-leaning ActBlue political action committee’s progressive turnout project on Jan. 20, 2021, on the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the U.S.

Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. A video of the high school graduation ceremony was circulating online. TRIBLive, also known as The Tribune-Review, reported Crooks also received an award for his achievements in math and science in 2022.

Crook’s father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN after the shooting that he was trying to understand “what the hell is going on.”

Video obtained by TMZ shows gunman (Warning: Graphic content, expletives)

During a news conference that started shortly before midnight Saturday and ended on Sunday morning, Kevin P. Rojek, the FBI special agent in charge of FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office, said the shooting was an assassination attempt. He also said it was “surprising” that the shooter was able to fire for as long as he did.

Rojek said the biometric confirmation of the shooter’s identity was pending and his motive wasn’t clear yet.

Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said that while the FBI was investigating the assassination attempt involving a gunman his agency was investigating the death of a man who was attending the rally.

“There was one victim of the shooter who was killed,” Bivens said about the homicide.

Rojek said FBI agents were conducting interviews and the agency had also deployed a group of investigators to the scene of the shooting — including experts on explosives because there were “suspicious packages” around where the shooter was.

“Any suspicious packages we have to treat as if they were an explosive device,” Rojek said.

Bivens said the other two men who were injured during the shooting were attending the rally. He also said law enforcement responded to “several suspicious occurrences.” Rojek said the investigations were all ongoing and could take days, weeks, or months.

“We did not have any specific threat information related to this event,” Rojek said.

Rojek said the investigation involving local, state, and other federal agencies was ongoing and could take “days, weeks, or months” to complete. A representative of the U.S. Secret Service was not at the news conference to answer questions about possible lapses in security.

Rojek asked anyone with information or videos to submit a form on this FBI page.

Law enforcement later released the shooter was a 20-year-old man from Pennsylvania.

VIDEO OF SHOOTING

Trump released a statement on Truth Social.

“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.”

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A witness who identified as “Greg” told The BBC that he was in the rally when he saw a suspicious man armed with a rifle “bear-crawling up the roof” of a nearby building and he alerted police.

“The next thing you know, five shots ring out,” he said.

During the shooting, Trump stopped speaking to the crowd, held his right ear, and moved lower behind the podium. The U.S. Secret Service surrounded Trump. The witness said he saw the U.S. Secret Service kill the shooter.

“They crawled up on the roof, they had their guns pointed at him, made sure he was dead,” the witness said. “He was dead, and that was it. It was over.”

The loud communication among the agents reflected a coordinated response. Someone near Trump shouted, “Shooter is down!”

There was blood on Trump when he stood back up. He raised his right fist, as U.S. Secret Service agents formed a ring around him to protect him while moving him away from the podium.

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The agents took him away from the crowd and into a vehicle. Some in the crowd screamed in terror. The U.S. Secret Service counterattack group in military gear rushed into the rally to search for the threat. U.S. Secret Service agents in suits wielded their guns.

Rico Elmore, a Republican who was a speaker at the rally, told CNN that he was walking away from the stage where Trump was when the shooting happened. He saw a man he had never met get shot.

“I jumped over the barrier and put my hand on the guy’s head that was profusely bleeding,” Elmore said.

The U.S. Secret Service later released a statement saying the incident was an “active investigation.”

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Law enforcement evacuated the rally and used crime scene tape to block an area. A police helicopter flew above the area.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, released a statement: “President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act. He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow.”

Photos from the rally

CNN, ABC News, and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Torres is reporting from the Local 10 News headquarters in Pembroke Park.