New Delhi: Twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was allegedly killed by the security officials, was identified as the suspected shooter behind the attack on former US President Donald Trump by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Crooks was killed after he opened fire at the Republican presidential candidate, Trump, during acampaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Crooks was registered to be a Republican according to the voter records.
The FBI, according to the reports, stated that the shooting was ‘an assassination attempt’ against the former president. However, the probe agency is yet to confirm the motive.
A report published on WION claimed that Crooks had positioned himself 130-150 yards from Trump’s stage at Butler Farm Showgrounds. The report attributed such claims to witness accounts, photos and video footage.
One of the eye-witnesses reportedly claimed that Crooks had climbed the roof of the building, settled in his position and fired the bullets. The witness, according to the WION report, alleged that Crooks fired bullets despite the public urging the security agencies to take action.
A few moments later, Crooks was taken down by one of the snipers. The security agencies reportedly found an AR-style rifle at the scene. According to some media reports, he was found wearing a Demolition Ranch T-shirt, which is one of the biggest firearms YouTube channels.
Who is Crooks: A Republican voter or donor of a Democratic-aligned political action committee?
According to the WION report, Crooks graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School. He had received a $500 ‘star award’ from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to a local newspaper in western Pennsylvania.
“He was registered to vote as a Republican, according to a listing in Pennsylvania’s voter database that matched his name, age, and a Bethel Park address that law enforcement was searching Saturday night and is linked to Crooks in public records,” read a CNN report, which also stated that the Federal Election Commission records show a donor listed as Thomas Crooks with the same address gave $15 to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called the Progressive Turnout Project in January 2021.