Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who shot Trump? What is known about him?

A witness to the shooting that occurred during Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania described seeing a man fall to the bottom of the bleachers after being shot in the back of the head. The man, who was a spectator at the rally, appeared to be blocking Trump from the shooter’s reach. The man who was shot appeared to be instantly killed.

Another woman nearby appeared to have been shot in the forearm or hand. It was later reported that indeed one audience member had been killed and two suffered from serious injuries.

Shooter at Trump rally killed

Not long after that, it was reported that the shooter had also been killed. Secret Service chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement, “U.S. Secret Service personnel neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased. US Secret Service quickly responded with protective measures and the former president is safe and being evaluated.”

The statement also confirmed that one spectator was killed and two were critically wounded. Guglielmi said the incident was reported to the FBI and is under investigation.

Donald Trump appeared to suffer a minor injury to his ear, which could be seen bleeding profusely, but he was otherwise okay. After gunshots were fired and Trump dropped to the ground behind the podium where he had been speaking, he rose up and made several fists in the air. Some reported that he yelled “fight!” as the rallygoers chanted “USA! USA!”. Trump was taken away by Secret Service agents in his motorcade and they confirmed that he was safe.

He released a statement on Truth Social saying that he was shot by a bulled that pierced the upper part of his right ear, but Guglielmi did not confirm that in his statement.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” Trump wrote. “Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

Who was the man who shot Trump?

The FBI has named the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks.

In a statement, the agency said: “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 13 July, in Butler, Pennsylvania.”

Bethel Park, which has a population of around 35,000, is located some 40 miles away from Butler.

Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told a press conference that Crooks’ reasons for the assassination attempt remained unclear. “We do not currently have an identified motive, although our investigators are working tirelessly to attempt to identify what that motive was,” Rojek said.

Various US media outlets have quoted Pennsylvania state voting records as saying that Crooks was a registered Republican.

Where did the Trump shooter shoot from?

It was originally thought that the shots were fired from inside the rally, but it was later reported that it may not have been inside the rally itself. The rally was quite small and it would have been extremely difficult to get a weapon inside discretely.

Three senior U.S. law enforcement officials said the shooting occurred outside the U.S. Secret Service security perimeter of the event. Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi said the shots came “from an elevated position outside of the rally venue”.

An aerial photo later surfaced which showed a rifle next to what appeared to be a dead body on top of a nearby rooftop.