Thomas Matthew Crooks: The 20-year-old suspect in the attack on former President Trump

The FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump this Saturday during a campaign rally.

Crooks was shot dead by the United States Secret Service seconds after he fired towards the stage where Trump was giving a speech in Butler, Pennsylvania, located about 56 km from Bethel Park.

The attacker shot the former president while he was on the roof of a nearby building, outside the security perimeter of the rally. One of the bullets grazed Trump's right ear, and he was escorted off the stage.

One rally bystander died and two others were seriously injured.

The local Pittsburgh media WTAE claimed that Crooks used an AR-15 type rifle and fired eight shots at a distance of between 200 and 300 meters from the podium where Trump was speaking, before being shot dead by Secret Service agents.

“This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone with information that could assist with the investigation is encouraged to submit photos or videos online,” the FBI urged in a statement.

Thomas Matthew Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, which has about 1,400 students, and received a $500 "star award" from the National Mathematics and Science Initiative that same year, according to a June 2022 report released by The Tribune Review, in western Pennsylvania.

Voter registration records revealed that Crooks is registered as a Republican, but that he also made a $15 donation to the Progressive Turnout Project, a left-wing voter recruitment organization, on the same day President Joe Biden took office on the 20th. January 2021.

Crooks' father, Matthew Crooks, 53, spoke to CNN and said he was trying to figure out what happened and will wait until he speaks with authorities before saying anything about his son.

The suspect was not wearing any identification at the time of his shooting, so agents had to “analyze his DNA and obtain biometric confirmation,” said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, in a statement. press conference held Saturday night before the gunman’s name was released.

The BBC confirmed that, according to public court records in Pennsylvania, the attacker had no criminal record.

USA Today reported dozens of police vehicles parked outside a residence listed at the voter registration address for Crooks.

This Sunday, the New York Post reported that the investigation into Trump's assassination attempt had to be delayed by improvised explosives found in Crooks' car.

Senior law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the search confirmed that explosives were found in the suspect's vehicle that were of “varying” levels of sophistication, although it is unclear exactly what they were made of.