US authorities have identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the gunman who allegedly tried to kill former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
So far, investigators have found no evidence in Crooks’ social media or other writings that could help identify his motive for the attempted assassination. The FBI is working to gain access to his phone, the agency said Sunday.
As the investigation into the shooting continues, here’s what we know so far about the gunman:
The Crooks lived in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, about 35 miles south of the Trump rally. The gun Crooks used in the shooting was an AR-style weapon, according to the FBI.
According to law enforcement officials, the gun was traced to Crooks’ father, which helped identify the gunman because he was not carrying identification.
He was registered to vote as a Republican and had previously made a small contribution to a Democratic-affiliated group, according to public records. He only cast a ballot once, in the 2022 midterm general election, an Allegheny County spokesman told CNN. This year’s presidential election would be the first in which he was old enough to vote.
Crooks worked as a nutritionist at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a nursing home less than a mile from his family’s home, the facility confirmed. According to a nurse, who asked not to be named, law enforcement had searched the center on Sunday.
Crooks was bullied in high school, didn’t fit in with other students and was described as quiet by former classmates. He graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, according to a local media report and a commencement video.
Both of Crooks’ parents worked as social workers, according to state licensing records. His father is registered to vote as a Libertarian and his mother is registered as a Democrat, state voter records show.
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 talking about his son. He could not be reached on Sunday.
