What led to Donald Trump sniper suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks seeking to kill the former president as the FBI now says there are no obvious clues as towards motive as previous political affiliations and donations are explored.
In the hours since a would be assassination on former president Donald Trump during a Butler, Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, officials have sought to identity what may have led to the suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, PA seeking to kill the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee.
The FBI which officially id Thomas Crooks as the assassin sniper suspect said it was working to determine a motive for the attack, in which one rally attendee died and two other spectators were critically injured. Trump who was shot in the ear miraculously survived the attack as secret service personnel hovered over Trump and whisked him off stage after a defiant Trump raised his fist in the air to allay witness concerns to the severity of his injuries.
Insider job or gross incompetence? Why did it take Secret Service so long to respond to sniper sighting?
Bombs found at Trump sniper car & home, but how did parents not know?
🚨WATCH: This is the visuals of the alleged suspect of the shooter who shot Former US President Donald Trump.
Some people reported that a man was seen crawling on the roof of a nearby building. But, Police, Secret Service ignored.
TRUMP survived Assassination Attempt.
— truth. (@thetruthin) July 14, 2024
I just landed and missed an assignation attempt. Holy shit. What a bad ass reaction from Trump. The election is over. He’s the next president. The Dems should give up. They can’t beat him now. pic.twitter.com/omtbue191d
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 13, 2024
Registered Republican who also donated to left leaning outfits
Almost just as soon as 8-10 gunshots rained from a raised surface towards the podium where Trump was speaking, Secret Service counter-sniper opened fire and killed the suspect, the FBI said. The scene was ‘chaotic’ and ‘everything unfolded very quickly,’ State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.
Law enforcement officials said on Saturday that Crooks carried no identification to the site of the shooting and had to be identified using other methods, principally DNA testing.
‘We’re looking at photographs right now and we’re trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation,’ Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge, said during a press briefing.
An AR-15-type semi-automatic rifle was found on the rooftop next to the sniper gunman’s body. During the attack, Thomas Crooks appeared to be wearing merchandise promoting one of YouTube‘s most popular channels devoted to firearms – Demolition Ranch – NBC News reported.
State voter records show that Crooks was a registered Republican. The upcoming Nov. 5 election would have been the first time Crooks had been old enough to vote in a presidential race.
Thomas Crooks rejected from school rifle team for being dangerous
Thomas Crooks bullied loner who loved video games, hunting, guns
El FBI confirma la identidad del autor de los disparos contra Trump: Thomas Matthew Crooks, de 20 años
A la izquierda en el tejado abatido “se supone “por el servicio secreto, a la derecha en su graduación en el 2022 , le dieron varios premios nacionales de matemáticas.
De… pic.twitter.com/exiWJVdqOh
— Ross (@enricross1964) July 14, 2024
Political interest
When Crooks was 17 he made a $15 donation to ActBlue, a political action committee that raises money for left-leaning and Democratic politicians, according to a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing. The donation was earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that rallies Democrats to vote and was made on January 20, 2021 — Biden’s Inauguration Day, the Intercept reported.
Crooks was registered to vote upon turning 18 in September of that same year as a member of the GOP, records show.
This year’s presidential election would have been the first time Crooks was old enough to vote in.
Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN that he was ‘trying to figure out what the hell happened,’ and would wait until he spoke to law enforcement before speaking about his son.
Thomas Crooks graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He received a $500 ‘star award’ from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to the outlet.
Trump sniper Democrat parents difficult relationship revealed
Trump sniper wore right wing T-shirt that promoted gun YouTube channel
No prior criminal record and no social media accounts
According to Pennsylvania’s public court records, Crooks had no criminal history and officials claimed they are still working towards identifying a motive behind the shooting.
In the hours after Thomas Crooks was id as the gunman, dozens of law enforcement vehicles were stationed outside a residence listed at the address on Crooks’ voter registration record. 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.
‘It’s insanity that anyone would do this,’ Dan Maloney, a 30-year-old resident from the area was quoted as saying by USA Today. Reuters could not immediately identify social media accounts or other online postings by Crooks. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, did not immediately respond to questions on whether the platforms had removed any accounts related to the suspect.
The FBI were still reviewing the security detail the Secret Service had in place and confirmed that officials only discovered Crooks was on the roof when he began firing, raising questions about security lapses.
‘We’re still working through the security apparatus that the Secret Service had in place, what potentially happened,’ FBI’s Kevin Rojek told press.
‘There’s going to be a long investigation into exactly what took place and how the individual was able to get access to the location, what type of weapon he had. All that is really days, weeks, and months of investigation.’
Officials also said it was too early to say if the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was a ‘lone wolf’ situation.
‘Too early to say that. We have one shooter tentatively identified. We’re not stopping there. We’re following up on a lot of information, it will be some time until we can conclusively say (it was a single gunman)’ Bevins said.
