Thomas Matthew was identified as the gunman responsible for the attempted assassination of former US President Trump. As investigators piece together the events leading up to the attack, questions abound regarding the 20-year-old’s background, motivations, and any potential connections that might explain his actions. According to reports, Matthew was positioned on the roof of a manufacturing plant when one of his bullets reportedly grazed Trump’s ear.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was the resident of Bethel Park in Pennsylvania. He appears to have graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School. He even received a $500 “star award” that year from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to The Tribune-Review in western Pennsylvania.
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He was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Multiple witnesses said they saw him before the shooting and alerted authorities.
Crooks was positioned on the roof of a building about 130 yards away from the stage where Donald Trump was addressing the rally.
He was shot dead by the Secret Service officials after the attack on the 78-year-old former US President. Police said Crooks’ motive behind firing on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is unclear.
OBook.NG had reported late Saturday night that former US President Donald Trump was rushed off stage after he fell to the ground at the start of a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to the CNN.
It was not immediately clear what caused Trump to fall at the time. He raised a fist and yelled back to members of the crowd before he was rushed away.
The incident came after a busy day of campaigning for both Trump and President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential race.
Loud bangs were heard before Trump fell. Secret Service agents then helped him stand, and he had blood on his face. He was yelling back to the crowd and raised his fist. He was then taken to a vehicle and evacuated from the scene.
Federal investigators said the gunman was not carrying identification, so they analyzed his DNA to provide a biometric confirmation of his identity.
One audience member at the rally was killed in the shooting, and two are in critical condition, officials said. Police said the victims were all men; their names have not been released.
Trump said in a social media post that a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. He was checked at a local hospital before leaving the area under Secret Service protection and flying to New Jersey late Saturday night.
The gunman opened fire with an AR-style rifle from 200 to 300 feet away from the rally stage, from a position on the roof of a shed outside the security perimeter, multiple law enforcement sources said.
A man who was at the rally said that soon after Trump started speaking, he saw a man “bear crawling” up the building.
“We’re pointing at the guy,” said the witness, named Greg, adding, “he had a rifle — you could literally see him with a rifle.” He told the BBC that he and others told the police and were pointing him out to U.S. Secret Service agents, and he estimated that the man was on the roof for “three or four minutes” before shots were heard.
Other witnesses told CBS Pittsburgh station KDKA that they also saw the gunman and tried to alert officers before the shooting.
The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting.
