The political leanings of the gunman involved in the fatal shooting that occurred at one of Donald Trump's recent rallies have been revealed.
On Saturday, it was confirmed that 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania carried out an attempted assassination of the former President of the United States, Donald Trump.
The 78-year-old had just started delivering a speech to thousands of followers who attended the rally in Butler when shots were heard coming just over 100 meters away from the podium.
Bullets were fired towards Trump, with one grazing past his ear, leaving him bleeding on the floor, while another victim, who was standing behind him, was hit and killed.
Two other Republicans were also left critically injured, as per an initial report released by authorities.
Multiple security personnel stormed the stage, providing cover for the business tycoon before assisting him to his vehicle and taking him to a nearby medical facility for further assessment.
Trump, as well as his campaign, confirmed that he was in good condition and the bullet had just grazed his ear, but that there was a lot of bloodshed at the event.
Now they're focused on identifying the motives behind the shooter, who was shot dead at the scene, as a full-scale investigation into the matter has been launched.
Crooks lived about an hour away from where the shooting took place in Butler.
He graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
While he was there, he received a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to the outlet.
Crooks was also a registered Republican voter from Pennsylvania but in the past few years, he seemingly developed a dislike for the party and its leadership.
According to a report by The Telegraph, on January 20, 2021, two weeks after pro-Trump alt-right supporters stormed the White House, Crooks gave $15 to a grassroots Democratic group.
The outlet also added that he hardly had an internet footprint.
Open-source intelligence analysts reported that Crooks didn’t appear to use mainstream social media channels such as Facebook or Instagram. Upon further investigation, analysts stated that Crooks corresponded with friends and associates on a Discord server that they are now trying to get into.
After he was formally identified, the FBI said that it regarded Crooks as carrying out "an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump."
"This remains an active and ongoing investigation," it said.
The FBI added that Crooks was not carrying any identification when he started shooting and had to be identified using DNA samples.
Witnesses stated that the 20-year-old was seen crawling across the roof of a shed, where he attempted to shoot the former president.
Video footage published by TMZ shows Crooks approximately 130 meters away from the president, taking aim at him while holding a gun.
US security forces said that they had recovered an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle lying by Crook’s body after he was killed by an agent.
As for his motive, Kevin Rojek, an FBI Pittsburgh special agent stated that the authorities have not yet identified one.
"We don’t currently have an identified motive, although our investigators are working tirelessly to attempt to identify what that motive was," Rojek said.
In a new statement, Trump thanked people for their messages of support.
"Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening," he wrote.
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
