Donald Trump Assassination Bid: Thomas Matthew Crooks ID'd As Shooter, FBI Says No Motive Found Yet

The FBI on Sunday said it has “tentatively identified” one shooter who made an assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. US media reports have identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Who Was Thomas Crooks?

Crooks, who reportedly hails from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired shots at Trump during an outdoor rally in Butler. He was positioned on the roof of a manufacturing plant, located more than 130 yards from the stage at the Butler Farm Show grounds. Secret Service snipers neutralised Crooks, and an AR-style rifle was recovered from the scene afterward.

Purported Video

The motive behind Crooks’ attack on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee remains unclear. Sources told The Post that the shooter was positioned in an elevated sniper position hundreds of yards away from Trump’s podium in Butler during the campaign rally. A video surfaced on the internet showing a “far-left activist” who allegedly tricked the media into reporting that he was Thomas Crooks.

What Really Happened

On Saturday, gunfire erupted in the midst of Trump’s speech, prompting him to cover his right ear before Secret Service agents tackled him to the ground. Moments later, Trump stood up, instructed his security detail to “wait,” and raised his fist, urging the shaken crowd to “fight.” A senior law enforcement source told The Post, “He came within inches of having his face shot open.”

At least one attendee was killed, and two others were critically injured, the Secret Service reported. Bystander footage from the aftermath shows what appears to be a deceased man in light-colored military fatigues on a rooftop near the rally stage. Several Trump supporters outside the event told BBC News they saw a suspicious person “bear crawling” up the roof of a nearby building before the shooting began.

One witness claimed his group tried to alert nearby police but felt their warnings were not heeded in time. The witness described the shooter as being in position for “3-4 minutes” before the shots were fired. He also reported seeing the Secret Service’s fatal response, stating, “They blew his head off.” US law enforcement officials said they had no reason to believe the threat was ongoing. “We have no reason to believe that there is any other existing threat out there,” Pennsylvania State Police Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens told reporters.