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FBI identifies Trump rally shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks


CNN

By Jessie Yeung, CNN

(CNN) — Authorities have identified the gunman involvedĀ in the attack against former US President Donald Trump on Saturday as 20-year-oldĀ Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene after the shooting.

The FBI named Crooks in a statement early Sunday morning, identifying him as a resident ofĀ Bethel Park, Pennsylvania ā€“ about 35 miles south of Butler, where Trump was holding his rally.

Crooks fired on Trump while perched on a nearby building rooftop outside the rallyā€™s security perimeter, before being killed by the Secret Service, according to law enforcement officials.

Witnesses at the rally described a ā€œbloodyā€ and chaotic scene, with people trying to administer first aid to those hit by the gunfire and struggling with the dense crowd.

The shooting left one rally attendee dead and two others in critical condition, authorities said. Trump was injured, writing on social media that heā€™d been hit by a bullet in the upper part of his ear ā€“ though his campaign said he was otherwise fine. Trump flew back to Newark, New Jersey, late Saturday night.

Now attention turns to the active and ongoing investigation, which involves multiple federal and state bodies. The FBI has urged members of the public to submit any information they have through a tip line or the agency website, including photos or videos of the shooting.

Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, according to a local mediaĀ reportĀ and aĀ videoĀ of the schoolā€™s commencement.

He was registered to vote as a Republican,Ā according to a listing in Pennsylvaniaā€™s voter database that matched his name, age, and a Bethel Park address that law enforcement was searching Saturday night and is linked to Crooks in public records.

This yearā€™s presidential election would have been the first he was old enough to vote in.

Federal Election Commission records show that a donor listed as Thomas Crooks with the same address gave $15 to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called the Progressive Turnout Project in January 2021.

When reached by CNN late Saturday night, Crooksā€™ father, Matthew Crooks, said he was trying to figure out ā€œwhat the hell is going onā€ but would ā€œwait until I talk to law enforcementā€ before speaking about his son.

After being killed at the scene, Crooks didnā€™t have any identification on his body, so agentsĀ had toĀ ā€œrun his DNA and get biometric confirmation,ā€ Kevin Rojek, theĀ specialĀ agent in charge of theĀ FBIā€™sĀ PittsburghĀ fieldĀ office, said at a press conference Saturday nightĀ before the gunman was named.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
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CNNā€™s Evan Perez, Casey Tolan, Curt Devine, Majlie de Puy Kamp, Kyung Lah and Audrey Ash contributed to this report.

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