The former president of the United States was the victim of an assassination attempt during a rally on Saturday in Pennsylvania. The FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, as the shooter. He was killed by the Secret Service.
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Former US President Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on Saturday, July 13, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania (northeastern United States). A few hours after the attack, the FBI identified the shooter, who was not carrying any identification, as Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The man was positioned on the roof of a building
US intelligence said the attacker had “fired several shots towards the scene from an elevated position [située] outside the gathering” before being “neutralized” by officers. Unverified footage shows the shooter’s body lying on the white roof of a low-rise building not far from the area where the rally was taking place.
Several witnesses said they saw the shooter before the shooting and alerted police, who said they “responded to a number of reports of suspicious activity,” without giving further details.
The shooter, originally from Pennsylvania, was 20 years old.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was originally from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. (northeast)according to an FBI statement cited by American television channels.The authorities have not released any further information about him as of Sunday morning. “This is an active and ongoing investigation,” continued the FBI.
According to US media reports, he was armed with an AR15 semi-automatic rifle.
Registered as a Republican voter
Thomas Matthew Crooks was also registered in Pennsylvania voter files as a Republican Party voter, according to an extract from the voter database (PDF), cited in particular by the New York Times. The November presidential election, however, would have been the first in which he would have been old enough to vote.
Donation to Democrat-Linked Committee Made in Shooter’s Name
A donor listed as Thomas Crooks and residing at the same address also gave $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a Democratic-aligned political action committee whose mission is to encourage voters to cast ballots in January 2021, according to a Federal Election Commission record, cited by CNN and the New York Times.