Who Is Thomas Crooks, Registered Republican, Democratic Donor, Trump Shooter?

The FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, as the gunman who fired multiple shots with an AR-style rifle in a failed assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The agency used biometric data to confirm Crooks was the would-be killer.

Crooks apparently fired from a rooftop about 130 yards from his target, hitting the former President Trump in his right ear. Crooks was immediately “neutralized” by the Secret Service, according to the FBI.

On Sunday, law enforcement vehicles remained stationed outside a residence listed at the address on Crooks’ voter registration record, according to USA Today. A bomb squad and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on the scene, which was cordoned off with yellow police tape.

Who is Thomas Crooks?

Crooks is from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a relatively affluent, predominantly white suburb of of Pittsburgh, about 42 miles away from Butler, where the Trump rally took place.

Allegheny County voter records listed a Thomas Matthew Crooks as a registered Republican, according to multiple news reports.

When Crooks was 17, according to Reuters, he made a $15 contribution to Act Blue, a political action committee that raises money for Democratic candidates. The donation was earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, according to Federal Election Commission in 2021 filings cited by Reuters.

Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 and was awarded a National Maths and Science Initiative Star Award worth $500.

Crooks worked as a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the administrator of the nursing home said in a statement Sunday. That likely means he was responsible for running food to the facility’s residents.

The 20-year-old does not appear to have had a criminal record in Pennsylvania.

Loner in Hunting Gear

In the first insight into Crooks’ past and personality, high school classmates told local Pittsburgh station KDKA that he had worn hunting gear to class.

He was “relentlessly bullied” the classmates said and was a “loner.”

Rejected From High School Rifle Club

Crooks was rejected from his high school’s rifle club and told not to return “because of how bad a shot he was,” a former classmate told ABC News.

Jameson Myers and one other student who was also a member of the rifle club at the time told the network that Crooks attended its “preseason,” but did not even make it to the tryout stage. Both said Crooks was a “bad shot.”

“He didn’t just not make the team—he was asked not to come back because how bad of a shot he was,” Myers said. “It was considered like, dangerous.”

The team’s coach declined to comment to ABC News, while a school district spokesperson did not immediately response to a request for comment.

The Attack

During the attack, Crooks wore a gray T-shirt with an American flag on the sleeve, matching merchandise sold by the popular YouTube firearm channel Demolition Ranch. The channel has over 11 million subscribers and frequently posts videos about various types of weaponry.

During the rally, the alleged shooter was positioned on the roof of a building approximately 130 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking. Witnesses described seeing Crooks moving across the roof before the attack.

Did Police Fail?

Accounts from the rally show first how close people were to the stage without being inside the security perimeter, and second, that they saw a man with a gun.

One witness, identified only as Greg, told the BBC that he was having a party outside the rally and was planning to walk up through a nearby field and listen to Trump when he started speaking. But as he was walking up, about five minutes into Trump’s speech, “We noticed a guy bear-crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50 feet away from us.”

“We’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof… the police are down there running around on the ground. We’re like, ‘Hey man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle’… and the police were like, ‘Huh, right.’ They didn’t know what was going on.”

Greg said his group kept trying to flag down law enforcement with little success.

“Next thing you know, I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage?’ I’m standing there pointing at [the gunman] for, you know, two or three minutes. The Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn. I’m pointing at the roof, just standing here like this… Next thing you know, five shots came out.”

Greg estimated the shooter was on the roof, in plain view, for at least three or four minutes before opening fire. He said it’s possible that the agents on top of the barn and on the ground couldn’t see the man because of the slope of the roof.

“Why aren’t there Secret Service on all the roofs?” he asked, seeming incredulous. “This is not a big place.”

A New York Times audio analysis reported there were two bursts of shots—a round of three followed by a round of five. The shots appeared to have been fired roughly 330 to 390 feet from the microphone that was recording the audio, according to the Times analysis.

Crooks fired the shots outside the area secured by the Secret Service. Following the shots, the Secret Service immediately “neutralized” Crooks.

Dad’s Gun, Explosives Found

The Wall Street Journal reported that Crooks had used his father's AR-style gun. Pennsylvania law would have allowed Crooks to purchase a long gun after he turned 18.His father appears to have no criminal convictions which would have prevented him owning a firearm.

But more concerningly, authorities found two explosive devices in Crooks' car and one in his home, the New York Times reported a person with knowledge of the investigation as having disclosed.

Motive Mystery

Law enforcement officials have not dismissed the possibility that Crooks acted alone, and they are investigating suspicious packages found near the gunman’s location.

Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge at the FBI Pittsburgh field office, said investigators are still determining the motive behind the shooting.

Crooks’ Family Reacts

When reached by CNN late Saturday night, Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, said he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking about his son.