Trump Assassination Bid: FBI Identifies 20-Year-Old Thomas Matthew Crooks as Shooter

New Delhi:  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced that Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is the individual involved in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The FBI has confirmed that the investigation into the incident is still active and ongoing. Earlier in the day, US security agencies had indicated that they were not ready to publicly name the shooter involved in the assassination attempt. The FBI had stated that they would release the shooter's identity only when they were "100 per cent confident." 

In a press briefing held shortly after the attack at an election rally in Pennsylvania, FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek remarked, "At this time, we are not prepared to identify who the shooter is. We are close to that identification. As soon as we are 100 per cent confident who that individual is, we will share it with the press."

The FBI also revealed that they are still uncertain about the motive behind the assassination attempt, which resulted in one fatality and left two others critically injured. "We do not currently have an identified motive, although our investigators are working tirelessly to attempt to identify what that motive was," Rojek added. As the lead federal law enforcement agency in the investigation, the FBI has declared the campaign venue in Butler as an "active crime scene." They are collaborating closely with other federal agencies, state partners, and local police.

The FBI has also reached out to the public for assistance. "We need the public's help, anyone who was on the scene, who saw anything... please report that to the FBI," Special Agent Rojek urged.

Who is Thomas Matthew Crooks

• Identification: The suspected shooter, who was killed by Secret Service agents, has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks.
• Age and Residence: Crooks, a 20-year-old, was a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, located about 40 miles south of the Butler rally.
• Weapon: Crooks used an AR-style rifle, which was recovered by law enforcement officials from the shooting site.
• Positioning: He positioned himself approximately 130 yards away from the stage where former President Trump was speaking.
• Shooting Location: Thomas Matthew Crooks fired the gunshots from the roof during the rally.  

'A few short minutes after Trump took the stage, shots rang out'

Former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally, days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. A barrage of gunfire set off panic, and a bloodied Trump, who said he was shot in the ear, was surrounded by Secret Service and hurried to his SUV as he pumped his fist in a show of defiance.

Trump’s campaign said the presumptive GOP nominee was doing “fine” after the shooting, which he said pierced the upper part of his right ear.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place,” he wrote on his social media site.

One attendee was killed and two spectators were critically injured, authorities said. All were identified as men. The Secret Service said it killed the suspected shooter — who it said attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue, a farm show in Butler, Pennsylvania — and said Trump was safe.

'No Place in America For Violence', Says Biden

President Joe Biden, who is running against Trump, was briefed on the incident and spoke to Trump several hours after the shooting, the White House said.

“There’s no place in America for this type of violence,” the president said in public remarks. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”

Biden planned to return to Washington early, cutting short a weekend at his beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Many Republicans quickly blamed the violence on Biden and his allies, arguing that sustained attacks on Trump as a threat to democracy have created a toxic environment. They pointed in particular to a comment Biden made to donors on July 8, saying “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.”