According to CNN, which cited law enforcement officials, the suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday had explosives in both his home and car. According to people familiar with the inquiry, the Wall Street Journal stated that the suspect also used a pistol that his father had bought.
At Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a Secret Service sniper shot and killed 20-year-old suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks, according to officials. CBS News also reported that several law enforcement sources claimed the gunman was carrying a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle and had fired from the roof of a shed outside the perimeter of the rally.
According to CBS News, FBI Pittsburgh special agent in charge Kevin Rojek stated at a late-night briefing that “we do not yet have an identifiable motivation.”
ABC News, citing numerous law enforcement sources, reported that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted an urgent tracing and discovered that the suspect’s father had lawfully acquired the confiscated pistol at the scene.
According to Reuters, Matthew Crooks, 53, the father of Crooks, told CNN he was investigating the incident and would not discuss it with anyone until he had spoken with law enforcement.
Despite surviving the gunfire and appearing on camera bleeding from his ear, the Secret Service escorted Trump off the rally stage. Authorities said that two audience members were very ill and one had died. Authorities have not disclosed the names of the victims, but CBS News, citing them, stated that they were all men.
Crooks is from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, according to the FBI, CBS News said. The rally site, Butler, is located a little over an hour south of Bethel Park, which is around half an hour south of Pittsburgh. “The authorities shut up the area around the suspected shooter’s home.” Local fire department trucks barred access for several blocks, letting only residents and detectives enter,” according to a story from The Washington Post early on Sunday.
According to CBS News, which cited a law enforcement official, the FBI has sealed the suspect’s residence, the Secret Service is in contact with his family, and federal law enforcement is conducting a search of it. According to CNN, which cited many law enforcement officials, the suspect had explosive devices in both his home and car.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was a registered Republican, according to voting records cited by Fox News. He added that, because of his advanced age, he only participated in the state election on November 8, 2022. According to Reuters, which cited a Federal Election Commission filing from 2021, Crooks contributed $15 to ActBlue, a “political action organization that generates money for left-leaning and Democratic lawmakers,” when he was just 17 years old. The Progressive Turnout Project, a nationwide organization encouraging Democrats to cast ballots, was the beneficiary of the payment, the outlet continued. The organizations reportedly did not reply to requests for comment right away, according to Reuters.
Additional Fox News:
“In 2022, Crooks received his diploma from Bethel Park High School. He was one of over two dozen pupils from the school to receive a National Math and Science Initiative $500 “star award.” According to the New York Times, an internet video of his graduation ceremony shows him entering the stage to little applause and briefly posing with a school official. According to a Fox News Digital check, Crooks would have been 21 in September. He had no recorded traffic or criminal violations, nor any bankruptcies, liens, or foreclosures.”
According to CBS News, FBI Pittsburgh special agent in charge Kevin Rojek stated at a late-night briefing that “we do not yet have an identifiable motivation.”
“According to an early Sunday statement from law enforcement, there are currently no known links to overseas terrorism; the suspect was not on the authorities’ radar, and they are still looking into his background,” CBS News continued.
The FBI’s statement on Crooks invites “anyone with information that may assist with the investigation to send images or videos online at FBI.gov/butler or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.” The investigation is still open and ongoing.
