Trump rally shooter identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20-year-old Pennsylvania man, FBI says

The gunman who fired shots at former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday night has been identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. 

Crooks was from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about an hour south of Butler. He was killed by a Secret Service sniper at the rally, officials said. 

In a statement, the FBI said: 

“The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania. This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is encouraged to submit photos or videos online at FBI.gov/butler or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.”

“We do not currently have an identified motive,” said Kevin Rojek, FBI Pittsburgh special agent in charge, at a briefing late Saturday night. 

A law enforcement official said early Sunday that there are no foreign terrorism ties known at this time and the suspect was not on the radar of law enforcement, although they are still running his name down.

Federal investigators said the gunman was not carrying identification, so they analyzed his DNA to provide a biometric confirmation of his identity. 

A law enforcement official said early Sunday that the Secret Service and the FBI are investigating the suspect’s background and speaking with his family. The FBI has secured his home and federal law enforcement is searching the premises of his family’s residence in suburban Pittsburgh, the law enforcement official said. 

A law enforcement source confirmed Sunday that suspicious devices were found in the gunman’s vehicle. 

Crooks’ political leanings were not immediately clear. Records show he was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania but previously made a $15 donation to a Democratic-aligned group, CBS Pittsburgh station KDKA reported.

Bethel Park School District confirmed to KDKA that Crooks was a 2022 graduate of Bethel Park High School. School officials pledged to work with law enforcement investigating the shooting, and offered condolences to those affected by the attack.

One audience member at the rally was killed in the shooting and two are in critical condition, officials said. Police said the victims were all men; their names have not been released.

Trump said in a social media post that a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. He was checked at a local hospital before leaving the area under Secret Service protection and flying to New Jersey late Saturday night.

The gunman was armed with a semiautomatic AR-style rifle, multiple law enforcement sources said. ATF is tracing the weapon. He opened fire from the roof of a shed outside of the cordoned-off rally area, about 400 feet from the stage, sources said.

Trump’s Secret Service detail was given additional assets that are part of the protocol for the presumptive nominee due to his heavy campaigning, which includes additional manpower, counter-sniper, drones and robotic dogs, the law enforcement official said. On Saturday, there were four counter-sniper teams on site, the official said. 

Additionally, Trump’s teleprompter is protective and the flag and podium banners are made of steel, the law enforcement official said.

A man who was at the rally said that soon after Trump started speaking, he saw a man “bear crawling” up the building.

“We’re pointing at the guy,” said the witness, named Greg, adding, “he had a rifle — you could literally see him with a rifle.” He told the BBC that he and others told the police and were pointing him out to U.S. Secret Service agents, and he estimated that the man was on the roof for “three or four minutes” before shots were heard.

Other witnesses told CBS Pittsburgh station KDKA that they also saw the gunman and tried to alert officers before the shooting.

The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting.