The FBI has named Thomas Matthew Crooks, aged 20, as the suspect in the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
The resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, suspected of firing shots toward the stage where Trump was speaking at the rally, was shot and killed by the Secret Service seconds after the incident.
Crooks resided approximately an hour from the shooting site in Butler. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, he graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 and received a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative.
State voter records indicate that Crooks was registered as a Republican. The upcoming November 5 election would have marked his first eligibility to vote in a presidential race.
The FBI has stated that investigations are ongoing to ascertain Crooks’s motive for the attack, which occurred months ahead of the presidential elections.