The man who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday has been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, according to The New York Post.
Sources familiar with the investigation reported that the Secret Service identified Crooks as the gunman who fired several shots at the former president from the roof of a nearby manufacturing plant. At a media briefing Saturday night, the FBI confirmed the shooter had been identified but did not release his name at that time.
Law enforcement confirmed that a sharpshooter killed the suspect, but the motive for the attack remains unknown. TMZ posted eyewitness video reportedly showing the gunman opening fire from his rooftop perch, and being killed seconds later.
The incident occurred while Trump was holding a rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds. As shots rang out, Trump grabbed at his ear and neck area before dropping below the lectern. Secret Service agents stormed the stage as more gunfire could be heard, urging attendees to get down as they screamed in panic.
The suspected shooter and one rally attendee were killed in the attack, according to law enforcement.
Trump posted on Truth Social roughly two-and-a-half hours after the shooting, thanking law enforcement, expressing his condolences for the attendee who was killed, and confirming he was shot in the ear. “It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead,” Trump posted. “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, and shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
President Biden spoke on camera from Rehoboth Beach, Del., where he is spending the weekend. In remarks that lasted two minutes, Biden said he’d tried to get in touch with Trump over the phone and hoped to speak with his political rival on Saturday night. “Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick,” Biden said.
The investigation into the shooting continues as authorities work to determine the motive behind this violent act.
