Updated July 15, 2024 at 15:30 PM ET
Two days out from the shocking assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, authorities are still wrestling to understand who the alleged gunman was and what may have driven him to act.
The FBI say Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who allegedly shot at Trump at a Butler, Pa., political rally on Saturday, is believed to have acted alone. There is yet to be an established motive for Crooks’ actions, officials told media this weekend.
Trump says that a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. One person, identified Sunday as Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed in the attack. Two other people were also injured before Secret Service agents killed Crooks.
Investigators have said his father purchased the weapon used in the attack — an AR-style 556 rifle — and now officials are trying to determine how Crooks gained access to it.
A person familiar with the investigation who was not allowed to speak publicly said the gun was purchased about six months ago. The source also confirmed that at least one possibly workable, explosive device was found in the dead suspect's vehicle.
Robert Wells, assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, said Sunday that the bureau was investigating the incident as “an act of domestic terrorism.”
A picture is still emerging about the 20-year-old. Here’s what we know so far.
Crooks is from a small community outside of Pittsburgh
The Crooks family home is in Bethel Park, Pa., according to the FBI, a working-to-middle class community south of Pittsburgh. Attempts to contact family members listed as residents of the home were not successful.
Investigators said the Crooks’ family is cooperating with the investigation.
The community, which neighbors described to an NPR reporter as “quiet,” sits about 53 miles from the shooting site and is home to about 33,000 people.
“People kind of keep to themselves. I mean, you say hi to your neighbors,” said Jim Zawojski, 70, a retiree living in Bethel Park. But, he added, people aren’t especially close-knit.
Zawojski said he once mistakenly received mail from the Crooks house, but never engaged with the family members directly, even as he returned the mail to their porch.
“I couldn’t even tell you what they look like,” he said.
Law enforcement had the street where it is believed Crooks lived blocked off from the public on Sunday.
“I’m sure they’re devastated," Zawojski said, thinking of the Crooks family. "I am just wondering if there were any signs of how [Crooks] was acting. Was he mentally disturbed?"
In school, he was considered a good student
The Bethel Park School District confirmed Sunday that Crooks was a 2022 graduate of Bethel Park High School. The district said it was cooperating with investigators and was limited in what other information it could release.
Crooks' name was included on a list of awardees as part of Bethel Park High School's Awards and Recognition Program in 2022, according to a local news report. He was listed as receiving a $500 National Math & Science Initiative Star Award.
"From background I've gotten from people that I know that have gone to school with him, he was your typical average kid — more on the quiet side, relatively intelligent," Allegheny County Councilor Dan Grzybek told WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR news station. Gryzbek represents the district that includes Bethel Park.
Grzybek noted that Crooks, while a student at Bethel Park High School, was known as "a pretty decent student."
After high school, Crooks attended the Community College of Allegheny County, where he graduated two months ago with an associates degree in engineering science, the school confirmed to NPR.
"Like all Americans, we are shocked and saddened by the horrific turn of events that took place in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. We are grateful that former President Trump is safe and recovering, and we extend our condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore on their loss, and offer our thoughts and prayers to all others who have been impacted by this tragedy," CCAC said in a statement. "As the investigation into this weekend’s events continues, CCAC will fully cooperate with members of law enforcement."
A person who crossed paths with Crooks at CCAC and who wasn't authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Crooks was known as a brilliant student with a solid future ahead of him. This individual said Crooks was seen on campus and always dressed nicely. There were plans for Crooks to attend a four year institution in the state after graduating CCAC in May, this person said.
Earlier this year, it was announced that CCAC was no longer offering new students to enroll in its engineering department, forcing current students to finish their programs and classes there by 2025, according to a local news report. This caused a lot of students stress, but as far as this person knew there were no behavioral issues with Crooks during his time at CCAC.
Since news of the shooting rippled through the community, the general feeling at CCAC is shock at the "senseless" tragedy, this individual said.
Small details are beginning to take shape
Bit by bit, more minor details about his life beyond school have started to come into focus.
Crooks had been working at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center as a dietary aide, Marcie Grimm, the center's administrator, said in a statement shared with NPR. It's unclear how long Crooks worked at the center.
Grimm expressed shock and sadness that the 20-year-old was named as the alleged shooter.
Crooks "performed his job without concern and his background check was clean," Grimm said in her statement. "We are fully cooperating with law enforcement officials at this time. Due to the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further on any specifics. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Former President Trump and the victims impacted by this terrible tragedy. We condemn all acts of violence."
At some point, he also joined a shooting club just a short drive away from Bethel Park. Robert S. Bootay, legal counsel for Clairton Sportsmen's Club, said in a statement that Crooks was a member of the gun club.
“Obviously, the Club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence that occurred yesterday,” Bootay said in a statement while also offering condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore, who died in the attack, and prayers to those injured.
A possible motive remains unclear
Investigators are working to put together what may have motivated Crooks to launch this attack. They are looking into his actions in the days and weeks before the shooting.
The FBI has not yet identified an ideology associated with the shooter, according to Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office who is leading the investigation into the assassination attempt.
“We don’t have any kind of fidelity right now about the shooter’s action immediately prior to him engaging the former president,” he said.
Pennsylvania voter registration and Federal Election Commission data shows Crooks was a registered Republican, but donated $15 through ActBlue, the Democratic-allied organization, in 2021.
A search on Pennsylvania's public court records database indicated Crooks had no criminal history.
There is no indication that Crooks had mental health issues and investigators have found no threatening language on his social media accounts, according to Wells of the FBI's counterterrorism division. The investigation is still in its early stages, Wells said Sunday.
Investigators have had limited insight into recent communications that Crooks made — texts and phone call detail information — but on Monday the FBI said it had gained access to Crooks’ phone.
“FBI technical specialists successfully gained access to Thomas Matthew Crooks’ phone, and they continue to analyze his electronic devices,” the bureau said in a statement. “The search of the subject's residence and vehicle are complete.”
To the extent he used social media, it appears he left no major footprint.
At least one social media account associated with Crooks has been confirmed on the group-chatting app Discord.
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