The man identified by authorities as the shooter in the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was a 20-year-old from a Pittsburgh suburb, not far from the campaign rally where a bystander was killed.
Investigators were working Sunday to gather more information about Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who they say opened fire from a rooftop outside the Butler event venue before being shot dead by Secret Service officers.
An FBI official said Saturday night that a motive for the shooting has not yet been determined. Public court records in Pennsylvania show no prior criminal cases against Crooks.
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Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said on social media that the top of his right ear was pierced by a gunshot. Two bystanders were seriously injured, authorities said.
Crooks’ family members have not responded to messages from The Associated Press. His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN late Saturday that he is still trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would not discuss his son until after meeting with law enforcement.
Authorities on Sunday set up a roadblock blocking traffic near Crooks’ home, which sits in a cluster of modest brick homes in the hills outside Pittsburgh. Police vehicles were parked at an intersection near the home and officers were seen walking around the neighborhood.
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, the school district said in a statement to KDKA-TV. The school district said it will fully cooperate with investigators. In 2022, Crooks was one of several students awarded in math and science, according to a Tribune-Review article published at the time.
Crooks’ political leanings are not immediately known. Records show Crooks was a registered Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he donated $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden was sworn in.
The FBI released his identity early Sunday, hours after the shooting. Authorities told reporters that Crooks was not carrying identification, so they were using DNA and other methods to confirm his identity.
Authorities recovered an AR-style rifle at the scene, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
An AP analysis of more than a dozen videos and photographs from the scene of Trump’s rally, as well as satellite images of the site, shows the shooter was able to get surprisingly close to the stage where the former president was speaking.
A video posted on social media and geolocated by the AP shows the body of a person dressed in gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a building at AGR International Inc., a factory just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump’s appearance was held.
The roof where the alleged shooter lay was less than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump stood, a distance from which a decent-level marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. For reference, 150 meters is the distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M-16 rifle. The AR-15, as held by the shooter at the Trump rally, is the semi-automatic civilian version of the military M16.
Investigators believe the gun was purchased by the father at least six months ago, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
Police sources told The Associated Press on Sunday that police found bomb-making materials in the shooting suspect’s home and vehicle.
Officials said federal agents are still working to understand when and how Thomas Crooks obtained the gun. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
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