By Bernd Debusmann, Tom Bateman and Tom McArthur, BBC News in Pennsylvania and London
CBS NewsBethel Park, a small suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is in shock after the FBI identified local youth Thomas Matthew Crooks as the shooter. Donald Trump’s Campaign Shot And it shocked the nation.
Investigators say Crooks, armed with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, opened fire on the former president as he addressed a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one audience member and wounding two others.
Officials said the 20-year-old kitchen worker was shot and killed on the spot by a Secret Service sniper.
But his wealthy hometown neighbors are shocked and don’t seem to understand how a quiet young man became a suspect in a shooting spree.
The FBI said only that Crooks was “involved in an attempted assassination of the former President that is currently under active investigation.”
Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks?
According to the FBI, Thomas Crooks was not carrying any identification, so investigators used DNA and facial recognition technology to confirm his identity.
He is from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about 70km (43 miles) from the scene of the assassination attempt, and graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 with a $500 (£385) scholarship for maths and science, according to local newspapers.
Crooks worked in the kitchen of a local nursing home a short drive from his home, where staff said he passed a background check and raised no concerns.
According to U.S. media, state voter records show he was a registered Republican.
He was also reported to have donated $15 to the progressive campaign group ActBlue in 2021.
The BBC has confirmed he was a member of a local shooting club called the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club.
This massive club, located south of Pittsburgh, is “one of the premier shooting facilities in the tri-state area” of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, with over 2,000 members.
There are several shooting ranges here, including a high-powered rifle facility that can shoot targets up to 171 meters away.
The club’s owner, Bill Sellito, told the BBC the shooting was “a terrible, horrible thing.” Access to the club is strictly controlled, with only members allowed inside the sprawling facility.
“Clearly the club is absolutely alarmed by this senseless act of violence,” Robert S. Butai III, a lawyer representing the group, told the BBC.
According to investigators, law enforcement officials believe the AR-style rifle used to shoot Donald Trump was purchased by Crooks’ father.
It is unclear how the weapon ended up in his son’s hands, but some have suggested that the father had no idea what was about to happen.
Two officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP that Crooks’ father purchased the weapon at least six months ago.
Authorities said Crooks purchased a box of ammunition containing 50 rounds on the day of the rally, according to a report by the BBC’s US news partner CBS.
According to US media reports, Crooks was wearing a T-shirt from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel known for its gun and explosive content. The channel has millions of subscribers and features videos of various guns and explosive devices.
The day after the shooting, law enforcement sources told CBS that a suspicious device was found in Crooks’ vehicle.
According to CBS, the suspect was in possession of commercially available equipment that appeared to be capable of operating the device.
Bomb technicians were dispatched to the scene to secure and examine the device.
What was his motivation?
Police and authorities are investigating Crooks’ motive after confirming his identity.
“There is no motive identified at this time,” FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent Kevin Rozek said during a briefing Saturday night.
Mr Rojek said the investigation into what happened could last for months and investigators would work “restlessly” to determine Crooks’ motive.
In an interview with CNN, Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, said he was trying to figure out “what the heck is going on,” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking about his son.
According to the FBI, Crooks’ family is cooperating with investigators.
Police blocked the road leading to the home where Crooks lives with his parents.
A neighbor told CBS that police evacuated her in the middle of the night without warning.
Bethel Park police say they are investigating a bomb incident near Crooks’ home.
Access to the area remains tightly controlled, with police vehicles blocking the road. Only residents are allowed in.
Law enforcement sources told CBS they believe there was some level of planning before the shooting occurred.
However, it is still under investigation how much time was invested in the plan.
Police believe he acted alone, but are continuing to investigate whether he was accompanied to the rally.
What kind of person was he?
So far, a confusing and sometimes conflicting picture has emerged of who Crooks was.
In interviews with local news outlet KDKA, several young men who went to school with him described him as a loner, often bullied and sometimes “went to school in hunting clothes.”
His former classmate Summer Barkley cast him differently, telling the BBC that he “always got good grades in exams” and had a “passion for history”.
“He seemed to know everything about government and history,” she said. “But it was something out of the ordinary… He was always kind.”
She explained that he was very popular with his teachers.
Others remembered him simply as a quiet man.
“He was there but I can’t remember anyone who knew him well,” a former classmate who asked not to be named told the BBC. “He wasn’t really who I thought he was, but he seemed okay.”
Another classmate, who also did not want to be identified, described him as “intelligent, but a little weird.”
Staff at Angelo’s Pizza, a restaurant in Bethel Park, told the BBC they knew Crooks.
Restaurant owner Sarah Petko said some of her staff, including his school friends, thought of him as a “loner” but had a hard time understanding how a normally quiet man could become violent.
“It’s just crazy, and it’s so close that it’s inconsolable,” she said. “To think that someone who’s basically at the beginning of their life could do something like this.”
Jameson Myers, a former member of the Bethel Park High School rifle team who graduated with Crooks in 2022, told CBS that Crooks did not make the team.
“He didn’t even make the junior varsity team in the trials,” Myers added. “He never made it to the trials again in high school.”
Another former classmate told ABC News that Crooks “wasn’t a good shooter” and “wasn’t a good fit for the rifle team.” The school district said it had no record of Crooks applying to the team and “was never on the roster.”
APHMr. Myers remembers Crooks as a “normal boy” who was “not particularly popular, but never teased.”
“He was a good kid who never said anything bad about anyone, and I never thought he could do something like that because I’d never seen him do it the last few days.”
Max Smith, who took an American history class with Crooks, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his former classmate was “definitely a conservative.”
“Most of the students were on the liberal side, but Tom always stood on the conservative side, no matter what,” Smith said, recalling a mock debate in which both men participated.
“I wonder why he would want to assassinate a conservative candidate,” he said.
Other local residents said they were shocked that the gunman had come from the quiet, tree-lined streets of Bethel Park.
Among them was Jason Mackey, a 27-year-old local resident who lived near Crooks’ residence and worked at his school when he was a student.
Mr. Mackey said he did not know Crooks personally, but he still looked incredulous.
“It’s just shocking. You wouldn’t think something of this magnitude would happen right in your backyard,” he said. “It’s just crazy.”
Who were the victims of the shooting?
The shooting left one person dead and two injured.
According to CBS News, all three victims were adult males and were audience members.
At a news conference Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro identified the dead victim as 50-year-old volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died after “running into his family” to protect them.
He said Comperatore “died a hero”.
The two men injured in the attack were identified as 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver.
Both men are Pennsylvania residents and are in stable condition.
A GoFundMe page organized by Meredith O’Rourke, the Trump campaign’s national finance director, was created within hours of the attack, and donations went to the families of the injured.
So far, more than $340,000 (£267,000) has been raised.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he was “shot above the right ear” by a bullet that “felt like it was tearing my skin.”
Blood was visible from Trump’s ears and face as security personnel rushed him away.
According to a statement posted on the Republican National Committee (RNC) website, President Trump is “doing well” and is grateful to law enforcement officials.
He traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Sunday, the day after the shooting, to attend the Republican National Convention.
How far was he from Donald Trump?
A witness told the BBC that he saw a man (presumed to be Crooks) holding a rifle on the roof of the building before Trump was shot.
Footage obtained by TMZ shows: The moment the shooting started.
According to CBS News, the attacker opened fire with an “AR-style rifle.”
A law enforcement source told CBS that he was reported by a passerby and police identified him as a suspicious person, but they were unable to track him down before the shooting began.
Officials said a Secret Service sniper returned fire and killed the gunman.
Footage later released shows armed police approaching the body on the roof of the building.
