In a statement released on Sunday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that it has determined that Bethel Park, Pennsylvania resident Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was the “subject involved” in the assassination attempt on the former president.
The incident happened on Saturday night during a political rally held at Pennsylvania’s Butler Park Showgrounds.
Trump stated he was “fine” following his shooting, saying “a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” in a social media post. Agents from the Secret Service swiftly removed the former president, who had blood all over his ear, from the platform. Two attendees suffered serious injuries, and one person died.
It was unclear at first what Crooks’s political views were. He was shot dead by the Secret Service during the attempted assassination.
Documents indicate that Crooks was a Republican registered voter in Pennsylvania; but, federal campaign finance disclosures also indicate that he made a $15 donation to a leftist political action organization in 2021. Authorities have not made a potential motivation widely known.
For specific security concerns, the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Sunday that the airspace over Bethel Park was blocked “effective immediately.”
The suspect fired at Trump, who was speaking on stage at the time, “from an elevated position outside of the rally venue” in Butler County, according to the US Secret Service, which added that one of its agents shot the suspect.
He expressed gratitude to the police for their “rapid response.”
Graphic: Amy O’Kruk and Renée Rigdon, CNN
In a post on Truth Social, Trump expressed his condolences to the family of the person who was killed at the rally as well as to the family of those who were seriously injured. After being taken to a hospital for assessment, he was reportedly released at around 10.20 p.m. local time.
“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country.”
More than a dozen bullets were seen in the footage from NBC News during the rally; later shots appeared to be from agents defending the president, who was speaking on stage at the time.
“Get down, get down, get down!” was said in a voice. As the gunshots continued and shouts from the audience could be heard, agents came to jump on top of Trump.
Agent voices were heard on network audio declaring, “Shooter’s down. Shooter’s down. Are we good to move? We’re clear, we’re clear.”
“Let me get my shoes. Let me get my shoes,” Trump shouted during the rally when security attempted to remove him from the platform. The former president can hear agents saying, “I got you. Hold on. Your head is bloody. We’ve got to move.”
Trump said: “Wait, wait.” He then pumped his fist, mouthed the words: “Fight, fight, fight.”
And in response, the rally’s attendees yelled, “USA! USA! USA!”
Then, agents swept Trump out of sight. On camera, Trump had blood on his ear.
How the gunman was able to get close enough to Trump to aim a gun at him and fire repeatedly was one part of the attack that authorities were “going to have to figure out,” according to local district attorney Richard Goldringer, who made an appearance on CNN.
The most vivid early description of the shooting came from a Trump fan who claimed to have witnessed a man with a weapon walk onto the top of a nearby building while he was outside the event venue and yet able to hear the former president’s campaign speech.
The man, whose identity was withheld by the BBC, claimed that he and the others he was with began pointing at the man in an attempt to notify police and security to the presence of a “guy on the roof with a rifle.” However, no cops showed there, so the shooter shot many times at Trump in a matter of minutes.
The man told the BBC that Secret Service personnel then shot and “blew his head off” the attacker.
According to the agency, the rounds seemed to originate from outside the area that the Secret Service had secured. According to the FBI, it has assumed charge of the attack’s investigation.
FBI officials told reporters during a late-Saturday briefing that it was unexpected the suspect could fire more than one shot. At the briefing, which included FBI and state law enforcement authorities, the Secret Service was not represented.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was called to testify before the Oversight Committee of the Republican-led House of Representatives shortly after the incident. The hearing was set for July 22.
In a social media post, the panel stated, “Americans demand answers about the assassination attempt of President Trump.”
Supporters of Trump attacked the Secret Service, which is in charge of keeping the former US president safe.
On social networking platform X, a conservative activist named Jack Posobiec posed the question, “How was a sniper with a full rifle kit allowed to bear crawl onto the closest roof to a presidential nominee?”
After the shooting, Joe Biden called with Trump and expressed his gratitude for hearing that he was “safe and doing well.” Additionally, the president called for a general denunciation of political violence.
“The Trump rally … should have been able to be conducted peacefully,” Biden said. “It’s just not appropriate.”
Biden ended his weekend excursion to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, early on Sunday and arrived at the White House.
Later in the morning, Homeland Security and law enforcement authorities will brief him about the attempted assassination of Trump, according to the White House.
Vice-president Kamala Harris was also to attend.
Apart from his address and the fact that he paid $15 to a liberal PAC on January 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden took office, not much is known about Crooks at this time. The Progressive Turnout Project, an initiative by ActBlue to encourage liberals to cast ballots, was the designated beneficiary of the donation.
In a brief interview with CNN on Saturday night, Matthew Crooks, the father of Crooks, stated that he was investigating “what the hell is going on” and that he would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before making any more comments.
According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 and was given a $500 “star award” by the National Math and Science Initiative.