Early Sunday morning, the FBI confirmed that the attempted assassin at President Donald Trump’s rally was a 20-year-old man named Thomas Matthew Crooks. Secret Service agents shot and killed Crooks seconds later.
This attack marks the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. According to Trump campaign officials, the former president is “fine.”
Crooks, who hailed from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired shots from an elevated position outside the rally venue in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service reported that one rally attendee was killed and two others were critically injured, all of whom were adult males.
Despite the seriousness of the incident, the FBI has stated that there is no ongoing threat. When questioned about whether Crooks acted alone, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. Bivens indicated that it would take some time to conclusively determine this, emphasizing that they are not assuming it was a lone wolf attack.
Two officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that Crooks was not an attendee of the rally. Law enforcement recovered an AR-style rifle at the scene.
A video posted to social media, geolocated by the Associated Press, shows the body of a person in gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a building at AGR International Inc., near the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump’s rally was held. The roof was less than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a competent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target.
Eyewitness Accounts
Easton Smith, who was outside the rally’s security perimeter, reported seeing a man climbing up the roof of a nearby building. He attempted to alert police when he saw the man had a rifle slung over his shoulder, shortly before shots were fired.
Another witness, Greg Smith, told BBC News that Crooks had crawled on top of the building just outside the event and pointed him out to police. Despite his attempts to alert the authorities, it took several minutes for them to respond effectively due to the slope of the roof.
Smith described the chaos that ensued after shots were fired, including bullets hitting broadcast speakers and people hitting the ground. Two firefighters from nearby Steubenville, Ohio, who were at the rally, assisted injured attendees and recounted hearing bullets hitting the grandstand and a speaker tower starting to fall.
Law Enforcement Response
President Trump was examined at a Butler, Pennsylvania medical facility after the incident. He ducked behind a podium and was quickly escorted off stage by Secret Service agents. In a post on Truth Social, Trump mentioned feeling a bullet hit his ear during the shooting. He was later released from the medical facility.
The Secret Service chief of communications, Anthony Guglielmi, confirmed that the FBI had been notified and is now the lead federal law enforcement agency investigating the incident.
Attendees were instructed to leave the venue, and U.S. Secret Service agents cleared the area, emphasizing that it was an active crime scene. The investigation continues as authorities work to gather more information about the attack and any potential accomplices.
Rubby Cordelia is a finance journalist for WVPrepBB.com, bringing expertise and clarity to her reporting on financial news. With a passion for demystifying complex economic issues, Rubby delivers insightful analysis and up-to-date information on the latest market trends, financial policies, and economic developments. Her work on WVPrepBB.com is essential reading for anyone looking to stay informed about the ever-changing world of finance.
