FBI identifies suspect in Trump rally shooting

(The Hill) — The FBI has identified a suspect in the Saturday shooting at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa.

The FBI, in a statement obtained by The Hill, said 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is the suspect involved in the incident.

“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,” the FBI said.

Shots were fired at Trump’s rally Saturday evening in Butler, during which the former president said a bullet pierced his ear. The U.S. Secret Service said the shooter and one spectator at the rally were killed, and two other attendees were critically injured.

Trump appeared to grab his ear and drop behind the lectern when shots rang out at the rally, and Secret Service agents swarmed on top of him. They surrounded him as he stood up, and he put a fist up to the crowd as they led him off stage. Blood could be seen on his ear and face.

Crooks’ political leanings were not immediately clear. He was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden was sworn in to office.

In a press conference late Saturday night, Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Pittsburgh, said authorities had not yet identified a motive in the incident.

“We do not currently have an identified motive, although our investigators are working tirelessly to attempt to identify what that motive was,” Rojek said.

Authorities told reporters Crooks wasn’t carrying identification so they were using DNA and other methods to confirm his identity.

Trump in a Saturday night Truth Social post thanked the Secret Service and other law enforcement authorities “for their rapid response on the shooting.” He also expressed his condolences to the families of the individuals who were killed and injured.

“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country,” he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.