Sunday, July 14, 2024
Spectator dead, several injured - Thomas Matthew Crooks (20): This Republican wanted to kill Trump
Spectator dead, several injured - Thomas Matthew Crooks (20): This Republican wanted to kill Trump
Story by FOCUS-online editor Malte Arnsperger (Munich) • 7 hours • 3 minutes reading time
After the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, many questions remain unanswered, for example the motive is still unknown. The first details about the perpetrator are now leaking out. The shooter is a 20-year-old, he was identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks.
After the shooting of former US President Donald Trump, a lot is now known about the shooter. He is 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. He comes from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, the FBI reports.
Thomas Matthew Crooks: This is what is known about Trump's assassin
Crooks' home is around 60 kilometers from the town of Butler, where the shots were fired during a campaign appearance. Crooks was shot by security forces. According to media reports, a type of assault rifle was found on him. According to the FBI, he was not carrying any papers and had to be identified by other means. They look at photos and work with DNA samples.
Via X, formerly Twitter, some users point out that according to the US voter registry, a 20-year-old man with the name in question is registered as a Republican in the town of Bethel Park. According to CNBC, a man named Thomas Crooks donated $15 to an organization that supports Democratic candidates a few years ago. On January 20, 2021, the day incumbent President Joe Biden took office.
According to NBC, Crooks was wearing a T-shirt with the logo of a well-known gun channel, "Demolition Ranch," during the attack. The man who apparently owns the brand posted on Instagram with a photo of the killed shooter: "What the hell?"
Crooks' father has now also spoken out. He is trying to find out "what the hell is going on," Matthew Crooks told CNN. He wants to speak to the police first before he can say anything about his son.
Videos are circulating on X that are supposed to show Crooks at his school graduation ceremony. According to this, he will attend the local high school until 2022. As "USA Today" reports, the street in front of the shooter's home in Bethel Park has now been blocked by security authorities. Several neighbors spoke to the newspaper. "It's crazy that someone would do something like that," said one of the residents. Another resident said he was "shocked" after learning that the shooter lived in his neighborhood.
The motive for the assassination is still unclear, as the security authorities announced a few hours after the shooting.
Videos show moments before and after the shooting at Trump
Meanwhile, a number of videos and eyewitness reports are circulating about the seconds before and after the shooting at Trump. According to them, there were apparently several snipers directly behind Trump on a roof, and they can be clearly seen on videos. According to eyewitnesses in the US media, they may have already identified an impending danger, but apparently did not react quickly enough. According to them, the shots were fired at Trump first, and only then did the shooters behind Trump shoot back.
Further videos and photos show the building from which the shooter probably fired. He is lying on the roof and appears to have a rifle in front of him, as the shaky images show. Then shots are fired and people are screaming. Further videos and videos then show a person with a blood-soaked head lying on the roof, with armed security forces above him.
FBI after assassination attempt: "No longer a threat"
The police no longer believe there is a danger to the public after the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Trump. "There is no reason to believe that the threat is ongoing," said an FBI representative at a press conference.
The spectator who was killed and the two injured were adult men, said a representative of the police in the state of Pennsylvania.