Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks, the Trump rally shooter?
REBECCA DROKE/ Getty Images
- The FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks as the man who shot at Donald Trump.
- Crooks was a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pa., and was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.
- Crooks was a registered Republican. His motivation for shooting at Trump remains unclear.
The FBI said it had identified the man who shot at former President Donald Trump, who had been speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Crooks was shot dead at the scene by a Secret Service sniper after he fired from "an elevated position" outside the rally venue.
Law enforcement found an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle near Crooks' body, according to The New York Times.
The FBI told Business Insider that the investigation into the shooting remains ongoing and active.
Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks?
A voter registration showed Crooks was a Republican.
Business Insider did not find any associated criminal record in Pennsylvania state court records or in federal court databases.
Federal Election Commission records revealed that Crooks made a $15 donation in January 2021 to the Progressive Turnout Project via ActBlue, a platform that raises funds for political candidates.
The upcoming election in November would have been the first time Crooks would have been old enough to vote in a presidential race.
It is not yet clear what his motivation was for shooting at the former president.
Crooks graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, according to local media outlet Triblive. He received a $500 "star award" from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to the outlet.
According to reports from USA Today, dozens of law enforcement vehicles were stationed outside the address listed on Crooks' voter registration record as of Sunday morning.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene, according to the outlet. A bomb squad was also in attendance.
Crooks' residence is about an hour's drive south of Butler.
Crooks' father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN that he was trying to figure out "what the hell is going on" and would wait until he spoke to law enforcement before speaking about his son.