Thomas Crooks was shot down by Secret Service snipers after firing several shots.
Hours after a bullet struck former US President Donald Trump’s ear at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday, sending shockwaves across the country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the killer as Thomas Matthew Crooks, aged 20.
“The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, age 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania,” the FBI said in a statement.
The investigating agency has now released a photo of the young attacker. The image shows the 20-year-old wearing glasses and smiling at the camera.
Crooks was shot down by Secret Service snipers after firing several shots at the former US president during the rally from a nearby rooftop. Witnesses said they tried to alert security officials to a man moving from rooftop to rooftop nearby and lying face down with a gun pointed at the rally.
An AR-15 assault rifle was found near his body.
Described as a “quiet and solitary” student, Crooks is a 2022 graduate of Bethel Park High School and received a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative.
As a registered Republican, the upcoming November 5 election would have been the first time he voted in a presidential election.
His schoolmates labeled him as “socially reserved” and did not recall him ever discussing politics or Trump, but mentioned that he was often bullied at school. “He was quiet, but he was just bullied. He was bullied a lot,” one student told local US media.
After graduating, he worked in a nursing home.
Following the attack, a “suspicious device” was found inside his car, which is now being inspected by bomb disposal technicians. Authorities are now searching his phone.
Sunday’s attack was a difficult decision for Trump, who is currently in the midst of a bid to be re-elected President of the United States. Videos show that a last-second head tilt saved the leader’s life when the bullet hit his ear.
A video showed the 78-year-old Republican leader, with blood smeared on his face, raising his fist and muttering “Fight! Fight!” as Secret Service agents pulled him off the stage after the attack.
This story originally appeared on Ndtv.com read the full story
