By Butler, Pennsylvania, July 2024- Early on Sunday, July 14, the FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the man who opened fire at a Donald Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The bureau has classified the incident as an “assassination attempt.”
According to voter records, Crooks was a registered Republican, but he was too young to have ever voted in a presidential election, according to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and The New York Times.
In 2021, Crooks made a $15 donation to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic politicians. The donation was earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, which aims to increase voting among Democrats. At the time of the donation, Crooks was too young to vote himself.
Bethel Park is approximately 50 miles from Butler, where the shooting occurred. Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, as reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In 2022, Crooks received a National Math & Science Initiative Star Award, which came with a $500 prize.
CNN reported that they briefly spoke with Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, late on July 13. Matthew Crooks said he was still trying to find out “what the hell is going on,” and declined to talk further about his son until he had spoken with law enforcement.
The Secret Service stated after the shooting that the shooter was neutralized and that there was no further danger. One person at the rally was killed and two others were critically injured before the assailant was stopped by Secret Service agents.
