Donald Trump assassination attempt: what we know about the shooter

On July 13th it was an extremely hot afternoon in Butler, Pennsylvania and Donald Trump was addressing his supporters during a rally when suddenly, bullets began to fly and panic set in. Fortunately Trump only sustained a small injury to his ear. But who was the shooter?

Security forces quickly took control of the chaotic situation. In addition to Donald Trump being injured two members of the public sustained serious injuries and a man died as reported by The New York Times.

As reported by CNN, the shooter was quickly identified by Secret Service agents and the agents shot and killed him. The shooter was a very young man and despite shooting at the former president, he was not an opponent of Donald Trump.

The FBI named 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the gunman. Crooks home is located just a few kilometers from where the rally was being held. According to CNN, Crooks was just 20 years old and was a known Republican sympathizer.

CNN says Thomas Matthew Crooks was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, the 2024 elections would be the first elections he was old enough to vote in.

Despite being registered as a Republican voter, CNN reports that "Federal Election Commission records show that a donor listed as Thomas Crooks with the same address gave $15 to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called the Progressive Turnout Project in January 2021."

CNN spoke with Crooks father, who said he was trying to figure out "what the h*** was going on." The father then added that he need to “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking more about his son.

Now that the shooter has been identified, investigators are still trying to figure out what really happened. Did Crooks shoot Donald Trump on purpose or was it an accident? The authorities are currently trying to answer these questions.

However, amid confusing information, The Washington Post headlined that the FBI considers the incident an attempt at assassinating Donald Trump.

The New York Times cites the Secret Service who have stated that the shooter fired several shots "from an elevated position."

Condemnations of the attack immediately followed inside and outside the United States: from Zelensky to the last Democratic representative, everyone radically rejected the attack.

In a campaign as polarized as the one between Trump and Biden, this incident represents a leap into the abyss: violence comes into play. Now it remains to be seen how Trump will handle such a delicate matter.

As reported by CNN, FBI special agent Kevin Rojek told the press at a news conference that the agency was surprised that the shooter was able to fire multiple shots during Trumps rally. Rojek told the press, “We’re still working through the security apparatus that the Secret Service had in place, what potentially happened.”

Special agent Rojek continued, “There’s going to be a long investigation into exactly what took place and how the individual was able to get access to the location, what type of weapon he had. All that is really days, weeks, and months of investigation.”

At the press conference Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police added that the investigation vital to help authorities to  “take a look at where any failures occurred and what can be done better in the future.”

The investigation will provide answers to the many unanswered questions in this case. What moved a 20-year-old young man with a Republican ideology to shoot his own leader?

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