Thomas Matthew Crooks: What we know about Donald Trump's attacker (2024)

Published

14 July 2024

The small Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park in Pennsylvania is reeling after the FBI named a young local man as the person who shot at Donald Trump during a campaign rally.

Investigators believe that Thomas Matthew Crooks, armed with an AR-style rifle, opened fire at the former president while he was addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The shooting left one audience member dead and two others wounded.

The 20-year-old kitchen worker was shot dead at the scene by a Secret Service sniper.

This what we know about him.

Thomas Crooks was from Bethel Park in Pennsylvania, about 70km (43 miles) from the site of the attempted assassination.

He graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School with a $500 (£385) prize for maths and science, according to a local newspaper.

Crooks worked in a local nursing home kitchen where staff members have said that he passed a background check and raised no concerns.

He attended the Community College of Allegheny, or CCAC, from 2021 to 2024 and graduated with an associate degree in engineering science.

In a statement sent to the BBC, the college noted that he graduated "with high honours" and that a review of his records turned up no disciplinary issues.

State voter records show that he was a registered Republican. He also donated $15 to liberal campaign group ActBlue in 2021, according to an election donation filing and news reports.

He had a membership at a local shooting club, the Clairton Sportsmen's Club, for at least a year, the club confirmed to the BBC.

It has multiple gun ranges, including a high-power rifle facility with targets up to 171 metres away.

“Obviously, the club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence,” attorney Robert S Bootay III, who represents the organisation, told the BBC.

Law enforcement officials believe the weapon used to shoot at Donald Trump, an AR-style rifle, was purchased by Crooks' father.

Authorities say that Crooks purchased a box of ammunition containing 50 rounds on the day of the rally, reports CBS, the BBC's US news partner.

Police and agencies investigating have been unable to identify a motive so far.

Officials briefed on the shooting were told he had visited the site of the attack, the Butler County fairgrounds, at least once in the days before the assassination attempt and had previously searched on his phone for symptoms of a depressive disorder.

The attacker had also used his phone to search for images of both Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.

On 15 July, the FBI said its forensic experts have successfully accessed Crooks' phone, and they are examining it and other digital evidence for clues.

Crooks' family is cooperating with investigators, according to the FBI.

Citing three law enforcement sources, CBS has reported that his father called police after the shooting, although the nature of that call is still unclear.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told US lawmakers that more than 200 interviews have so far been conducted and 14,000 images reviewed.

Police believe Crooks acted alone, but are continuing to investigate whether he was accompanied to the rally.

So far, a confusing - and at times conflicting - picture has emerged of who Crooks was as a person.

Speaking to local news outlet KDKA, some young locals who went to school with him described him as a loner, who was frequently bullied and sometimes wore hunting outfits to school.

Another former classmate of his, Summer Barkley, cast him differently, telling the BBC that he was "always getting good grades on tests" and was "very passionate about history".

She described him as well-liked by his teachers. Others simply remembered him as quiet.

Another classmate who did not want to be identified described him as "intelligent but a little weird".

Staff at Angelo's Pizza, a restaurant in Bethel Park, told the BBC they were familiar with Crooks.

The restaurant's owner, Sara Petko, said that staff members - some of whom were his classmates - thought he was a "loner" but that they were having trouble understanding how an otherwise quiet man turned to violence.

Another former classmate told ABC News he "shot terrible" and "wasn't really fit for the rifle team". The school district said there was no record of Crooks trying out for the team and he "never appeared on a roster".

Jameson Myers, who graduated alongside Crooks in 2022, remembers him as seemingly a "normal boy" who was not particularly popular but never got picked on.

“He was a nice kid who never talked poorly of anyone and I never have thought him capable of anything I’ve seen him do in the last few days.”

Max Smith, who took an American history course with Crooks, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his former classmate "definitely was conservative".

Mr Smith recalled a mock debate in which they both took part, saying: "The majority of the class were on the liberal side, but Tom, no matter what, always stood his ground on the conservative side."

One person was killed and two others were injured. They were all attending the rally.

Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer fire chief, was killed when he tried to protect his family.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said that Comperatore "died a hero".

The two people injured in the attack have been identified as 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver.

Both men are Pennsylvania residents and are in stable condition.

Trump said he was "shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear" and said he felt the bullet "ripping through the skin".

Blood was visible on Trump's ear and face as protection officers rushed him away.

One witness told the BBC that he had seen a man - believed to be Crooks - with a rifle on the roof of a building before Trump was shot.

“There are police running around. We’re telling them there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle,” Greg Smith told the BBC. “Secret Service is looking at us through binoculars, and I’m pointing right at the roof."

Multiple videos appear to confirm that chain, with some showing rallygoers shouting at police.

Video footage obtained by TMZ shows the moment the shooting began.

The assailant opened fire with “an AR-style rifle”, officials have said. His shooting position was approximately 443ft (135m) from Trump.

A Secret Service sniper returned fire and killed the gunman, officials said.

Footage later shows armed officers approaching a body on the roof of the building.

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