Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on ex-President Donald Trump on Saturday, and it cost him his life. This has been considered the most serious attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate since 1981.
After the horrifying event that occurred during a protest in Butler, the FBI identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
It has since emerged through federal campaign finance records that the gunman was a registered Republican who had previously made a $15 donation to the liberal ActBlue political action committee on January 20, 2021 – Biden’s Inauguration Day.
Regarding the gunman, no further details have been disclosed by the authorities.
‘This remains an active and ongoing investigation,’ the FBI said in a statement early Sunday.
According to NBC News, Crooks looked to be wearing gear supporting Demolition Ranch, one of the most well-liked gun-related YouTube channels, at the time of the incident.
Public court records in Pennsylvania show that Crooks had no prior criminal history, and authorities stated they are still investigating the shooting’s motivation.
Crooks appeared to have graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School and received a $500 ‘star award’ that year from the National Math and Science Initiative, a report from The Tribune-Review in western Pennsylvania.
In an online recording of the 2022 graduation ceremony, he can be seen crossing the stage as the crowd applauds him, before briefly posing with a school official and accepting his diploma.
His father, Matthew Crooks told CNN late on Saturday night that 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.
At 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, Crooks opened fire from a rooftop 150 yards from the Butler platform where Trump was speaking to hundreds of supporters.
Following at least eight rounds fired in his direction, Trump is seen in the video abruptly grasping his ear as blood pours down his face.
The crowd began screaming and fleeing the venue as Secret Service agents swarmed around the injured former president.
But in a show of strength, Trump emerged from the cover of the suited agents and raised a fist, shouting: ‘Fight, fight, fight’, before he was ushered away from the chaotic scenes and sent to hospital.
Crooks had killed a member of the crowd and critically injured two others before he was gunned down by the Secret Service.
The shooter was killed after he fired from an ‘elevated position’ outside the outdoor rally venue, according to the Secret Service.
The truth about this man will eventually surface, even though it does seem a little weird that the rooftop was left uncovered. On such occasions, it is standard procedure to provide cover for any height from which shots may be launched. Many questions remain unanswered.
I don’t think the term “stupid” is appropriate in this situation. The Secret Service has an established protocol in place to locate and keep an eye on any area where a sniper could potentially target the person they are attempting to protect.
For a parade, they do this for the entire route. In this case, there were only a couple of buildings to cover and the one that the assassin chose was in an ideal position, yet the Secret Service did not secure it or even monitor it.
Donald Trump’s head is so big, his ego so grossly overinflated that he thought he was among friends. I would call them supporters, but I’m sure he would call them friends, and some of them are prepared to die for him and did, and I bet Donald doesn’t even know their names.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 