As the hours pass, more is being revealed about the man who attempted to assassinate former United States President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified him as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20 years old with no criminal record.
According to the Pennsylvania voter database, I was registered to vote as a Republican. The presidential elections in November would have been the first ones in which I could have voted.
The Federal Election Commission records show that in January 2021, at 17 years old, he donated $15 to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called Progressive Turnout Project.
Crooks is from Bethel Park, a town located an hour's drive from the city of Butler, where the event was being held.
He studied at Bethel Park High School, which has around 1,400 students. He graduated in 2022 and that year received a $500 "star award" from the National Mathematics and Science Initiative, revealed The Tribune-Review of Pennsylvania.
There is a video circulating on the internet of the graduation ceremony in which he can be seen looking thin, wearing glasses, and donning the traditional black graduation gown. The young man walked across the stage to applause after his name was called, paused for a few seconds with a school official, and picked up his diploma.
After learning that he was the perpetrator of the attack, the police authorities blocked the streets surrounding the family house, located in a relatively wealthy suburb.
Dan Grzybek, representative in the county council, explained to The New York Times that the neighborhood where the aggressor grew up is "quite firmly middle class, maybe upper middle class."
He met Crooks' parents last year when he was campaigning for his candidacy, and he remembers them as nice people.
Grzybek lives half a mile from that street, a very quiet place that has now become the center of attention for journalists and onlookers.
Most people can't believe this happened in our neighborhood. (...) the number of people I've seen walking down our street, driving by and stopping to take videos and photos, I think is quite surprising," he said.
Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump from the rooftop of a nearby building, outside the security perimeter of the rally. He fired multiple shots, one of which hit the former president in the right ear. One rally attendee also died, and two others are in critical condition.
The young man in his twenties was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene after the shooting. A semi-automatic AR-15 type rifle was found near the body.
When examining his body, FBI agents discovered that he was not carrying any identification, so they had to "analyze his DNA and obtain biometric confirmation," said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI's field office in Pittsburgh.
In a statement, the FBI said it is working to determine the motive of the attack.
Former agency officials revealed that the behavioral analysis unit will try to develop a profile to decipher why he decided to carry out his action. Friends and family will be interviewed, and his online interactions will be traced.
On the other hand, Matthew Crooks, 53 years old, the father of the attacker, told CNN that he was just trying to find out "what the hell is going on," and that he would "wait until speaking with the Police" before saying anything about his son.
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