WASHINGTON (AP) — The man identified 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 protester was killed.
Authorities say Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire at the rally before being killed by Secret Service on Saturday, days before Trump accepted the Republican nomination for a third time.
An FBI official said Saturday night that investigators had not yet determined a motive for the shooting. One participant was killed and two spectators were seriously injured, authorities said.
Crooks’ relatives did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press. His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN Saturday night that he was trying to figure out “what’s going on” but would not discuss his son until he spoke to law enforcement.
Crooks’ political leanings were not immediately clear. Records show Crooks was registered as a 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.
Pennsylvania public court records show no prior criminal cases against Crooks.
The FBI released his identity early Sunday morning, hours after the shooting. Authorities told reporters that Crooks was not carrying identification and that they were using DNA and other methods to confirm his identity.
Law enforcement 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 photos from the scene of Trump’s rally, as well as satellite imagery of the site, shows the shooter may have approached the stage where the former president was speaking.
A video posted on social media and geotagged by the AP shows the body of a person wearing gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a building at AGR International Inc., a manufacturing plant just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump’s rally was held.
The rooftop where the person was located was less than 150 yards from where Trump was speaking, a distance at which a good sniper could reasonably hit a man-sized target. For reference, 150 yards is the distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a man-sized figure to qualify with the M-16 rifle.
Investigators believe the gun was purchased by the father at least six months ago, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
Officials said federal agents were 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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Associated Press writer Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Mike Balsamo in Chicago and Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.
