What to know about the alleged Trump rally shooter
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Clockwise from left: Newspaper front pages on the Trump assassination attempt; State and local police block off roads surrounding the Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, home of the suspected shooter on Sunday; a photo of the suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks. Photos: Rebecca Droke/AFP and Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Federal authorities have identified the suspect in what the FBI is investigating as both an "assassination attempt" of former President Trump and as potential domestic terrorism.
The big picture: The FBI named Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old Bethel Park, Pennsylvania native, early Sunday as the gunman involved in the attack at a rally that left Trump's face bloodied and killed at least one spectator.
- FBI officials said later Sunday that the suspect used an "AR-style 556 rifle" that was purchased legally.
- Officials say Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper while returning fire and, at this early stage of the investigation, they believe the shooter acted alone.
Catch up quick: Trump said in a Truth Social post Saturday that he was "shot with a bullet" that pierced his right ear. His campaign said after he was checked at a local medical facility and that the former president was "fine."
- However, rally attendee Corey Comperatore was killed and two others were "critically injured." Their conditions were listed as "stable" Sunday.
What they found: The FBI uncovered after searching the suspect's home and vehicle "suspicious devices" that "have been rendered safe by bomb technicians and are being evaluated at the FBI Laboratory," according to an emailed statement from the bureau Sunday night.
- "The shooter was not known to the FBI prior to this incident."
State of play: Clairton Sportsmen's Club confirmed in a statement to media that Crooks was a member of the gun club, and it offered its "sincerest condolences to the Comperatore family and extends prayers to all of those injured including the former president."
- Campaign finance data shows a $15 donation made by an individual matching Crooks' name to ActBlue earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, a political action committee that aims to mobilize Democratic voters.
- That donation was made on Jan. 20, 2021 — the day Biden was inaugurated and two weeks after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
- Crooks would have been 17 at the time he made the donation.
Yes, but: Pennsylvania voter registration records list an individual matching Crooks' age, name and municipality as a registered Republican in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
- The upcoming November election would have been the first presidential election in which Crooks could vote.
Zoom in: Bethel Park, a suburb south of Pittsburgh, is about an hour by car from where the rally was held in Butler.
- KDKA, a Pittsburgh CBS affiliate station, reported that law enforcement swarmed Crooks' home on Milford Drive in Bethel Park and shut down the road leading to the house Sunday.
- A neighbor told the outlet she and others in the area were evacuated from their homes.
- Crooks' father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN he is still trying to understand "what the hell is going on" and would "wait until I talk to law enforcement" to speak about his son.
Zoom out: Crooks reportedly graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 and was a recipient of an honor award, according to an article published in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in 2022.
- He received a $500 National Math & Science Initiative Star Award, the local publication reported, alongside several other students.
- An online recording of the 2022 graduation ceremony shows a young man who appears to be Crooks smiling behind glasses as he receives his diploma.
Discord, an online community platform, released a statement that it had identified a "rarely utilized" account owned by Crooks.
- "We have found no evidence that it was used to plan this incident or discuss his political views," the statement, reported by ABC News, read.
The administrator of Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where Crooks worked as a dietary aide, said he had a clean background check and "performed his job without concern."
- "This morning, Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation became aware that Thomas Matthew Crooks, a dietary aide at the Center, was the alleged shooter in the assassination attempt on former President Trump," administrator Marcie Grimm said in a statement provided to Axios.
- "We are shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement."
The bottom line: The motives for the shooting are still not clear.
Go deeper: Democrats, Republicans quickly condemn deadly shooting at Trump rally
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout. Rebecca Falconer contributed reporting.
