Investigators identified former President Donald Trump’s shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks on Sunday. Authorities found bomb-making materials in Crooks’ car parked near the rally and at his home about 50 miles away in Bethel Park, Pa., investigators told the Associated Press.
Crooks shot at Trump at a rally on Saturday from a nearby rooftop. A bullet grazed the former president’s ear, and he was rushed offstage by the Secret Service. He was treated at a local hospital and released. Crooks was shot and killed by the Secret Service’s counterassault team.
Law enforcement officers found an AR-style weapon at the scene that investigators believe Crooks’ father legally purchased, FBI special agent Kevin Rojek said during a Sunday briefing. Authorities are investigating how Crooks gained access to the weapon and whether or not his father knew, Rojek added. All military branches deny having any records of Crooks having ever served in their ranks, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
The FBI officially took the lead in the ongoing investigation and has yet to disclose the 20-year-old’s motive. Pennsylvania voter registration listed Crooks as a registered Republican, according to the Associated Press. However, federal campaign finance reports showed a Thomas Crooks of Pennsylvania donating $15 to a liberal political action committee the day President Joe Biden took office.
What is known about the security in place at the rally? Crooks fired multiple shots from the roof of a nearby building looking down over the rally, according to investigators. Some attendees saw a man bear-crawling around the roof holding a rifle, according to witness Greg Smith. Bystanders alerted law enforcement and tried motioning to Secret Service members but before authorities reacted, the shots rang out, he said.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi denied a claim by U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., that the Department of Homeland Security denied Trump’s requests for more Secret Service protection. The Secret Service added protective resources as the travel pace of Trump’s campaign picked up, Guglielmi said.
The House of Representatives will conduct a full investigation into the shooting because Americans deserve the truth, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said hours after the shooting. Committees will hear testimony from Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other Department of Homeland Security and FBI officials, he added. House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., called on Cheatle to testify at a July 22 hearing.
How is Trump? A bullet ripped through the upper part of the former president’s right ear and caused a lot of bleeding, according to a social media post from Trump on Saturday night. On Sunday, he traveled to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, which starts Monday. The conditions of the other injured attendees, identified as David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, have stabilized, according to a Pennsylvania State Police statement posted Sunday.
What is known about the audience member who died? State police identified the bystander killed in the attack as 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered Sunday that flags fly at half-staff to honor Comperatore until his burial. A GoFundMe campaign was also launched to support the daughter Comperatore left behind.
Dig deeper: Read WORLD’s up-to-the-minute reporting on the aftermath of the shooting.