By Aaron Josefczyk, Jasper Ward, Kanishka Singh
BETHEL PARK, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect in the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday at a rally. campaign.
The suspect was shot and killed by the Secret Service seconds after allegedly shooting at a stage where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The FBI said it is working to determine the motive for the attack, in which a rally attendee died and two other spectators were seriously injured. Trump was shot in the ear.
State voter records show that Crooks was a registered Republican. The upcoming November 5 election would have been the first time Crooks would have been old enough to vote in a presidential race.
Crooks lived about an hour from where the Butler shooting occurred. The Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday it closed airspace over Bethel Park for “special safety reasons.”
When Crooks was 17, he made a $15 donation to ActBlue, a political action committee that raises money for left-wing politicians and Democrats, according to a 2021 Federal Election Commission document. Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that encourages Democrats to vote. The groups did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN he was trying to find out what happened and would wait until he spoke to authorities before speaking about his son.
Thomas Crooks is a 2022 graduate of Bethel Park High School, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He received a $500 “star award” from the National Mathematics and Science Initiative, according to the newspaper.
A video from the 2022 graduation ceremony cited by the New York Times shows Crooks receiving his high school diploma to some applause. Video of that ceremony posted online shows Crooks wearing glasses and a black graduation gown and posing with a school official. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the authenticity of the video.
Law enforcement officials said Saturday that Crooks did not carry any identification to the shooting scene and had to be identified by other methods.
“We are looking at photos now and trying to analyze his DNA and get biometric confirmation,” said Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge, during a press conference.
USA Today reported that dozens of police vehicles were parked outside a residence listed at the address listed on Crooks’ voter registration. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene and a bomb squad was at the residence, USA Today reported.
The perimeter of the suspect’s residence was monitored on Sunday with yellow police warning tape. An Allegheny County police vehicle was parked outside.
“It’s crazy that anyone would do this,” USA Today quoted Dan Maloney, a 30-year area resident, as saying.
Reuters was not immediately able to identify social media accounts or other online posts by Crooks. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, did not immediately respond to questions about whether the platforms had removed any accounts related to the suspect.
(Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien Editing by Caitlin Webber and Frances Kerry)
