Law enforcement block a street in Bethel Park, Pa., that they say was a residence of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter of former President Donald Trump, on Sunday.
Joshua A. Bickel/AP
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Joshua A. Bickel/AP
The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks as the man who allegedly shot at President Donald Trump and killed one person at a Butler, Pa., political rally Saturday evening.
Trump says that a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. Two other people were also injured before Secret Service agents killed Crooks.
A picture is still emerging about the 20-year-old. Here’s what we know so far.
Where is Crooks from?
The Crooks family home is in Bethel Park, Pa., according to the FBI, a working-to-middle class community south of Pittsburgh.
The community, which neighbors described to an NPR reporter as “quiet,” sits about 53 miles from the shooting site.
“People kind of keep to themselves. I mean, you say hi to your neighbors,” said Jim Zawojski, 70, a retiree living in Bethel Park. But, he added people aren’t especially close-knit.
Zawojski said he once mistakenly received mail from the Crooks house, but never engaged with the family members directly even as he returned the mail to their porch.
“I couldn’t even tell you what they look like,” he said.
Law enforcement had the street where it is believed Crooks lived blocked off from the public on Sunday.
“I’m sure they’re devastated,” Zawojski said, thinking of the Crooks family. “I am just wondering if there were any signs of how [Crooks] was acting. Was he mentally disturbed? Was he that strong of a Biden supporter that he wanted that to happen so badly that he wanted to go and take Trump on? I couldn’t even begin to guess but I’m sure that they’re totally devastated.”
Law enforcement officers gather at the campaign rally site for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. Trump’s campaign said in a statement that the former president was “fine” after a shooting at his rally in Butler.
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A possible motive is unclear
Investigators are working to put together what may have motivated Crooks to launch this attack.
Pennsylvania voter registration and Federal Election Commission data shows Crooks was a registered Republican, but donated $15 through ActBlue, the Democratic-allied organization, in 2021.
A search on Pennsylvania’s public court records database indicated Crooks had no criminal history.
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