As investigators work to find why and how a 20-year-old gunman with a history of bad aim almost killed a former president last Saturday, photos of him at the scene have been revealed.
According to multiple law enforcement sources cited by WPXI, Thomas Matthew Crooks was spotted by law enforcement near the Butler Farm Show in Pennsylvania around a half hour before shots were fired at former President Donald Trump, the current GOP candidate for president. Crooks also allegedly killed former fire chief Corey Comperatore and injured two other bystanders.
“Channel 11′s Nicole Ford confirmed that Beaver County’s ESU team had eight members at the rally, including snipers and spotters,” said the outlet. One of Ford’s sources noticed a suspicious man scoping out a roof near the rally at approximately 5:45 p.m., took a photo and called the sighting in.
WPXI’s sources said Thomas Crooks is the person in the photo.
They said it is not clear if he had a gun with him when it was taken. Per the New York Post – which obtained copies of the photos – Crooks can be seen in the photo sporting long brown hair and glasses while wearing a gray T-shirt representing the YouTube gun channel Demolition Ranch.
“According to multiple sources, a law enforcement officer had also previously seen Crooks on the ground and called him in as a suspicious person with a picture prior to 5:45 p.m.,” said the WPXI. “Our sources tell us an officer checked the grounds for Crooks at that point, but did not see him where the first picture was taken.”
Shortly after 6:11 p.m., Crooks fired from the roof of the American Glass Research building, per a timeline provided by CBS News. That was not even 10 minutes after Trump took the stage. Thousands were present at the event though temperatures were around 90 degrees.
Seconds after Crooks fired from his perch around 410 feet from the stage, a Secret Service sniper returned fire and shot him dead. CBS News said witnesses alerted law enforcement about Crooks around 2 minutes before the shooting.
“The FBI continues to investigate the shooting incident at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, as an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and as potential domestic terrorism,” said the Federal Bureau of Investigation Monday.
WTAE reported that neighbors and friends described Crooks as intelligent and soft-spoken. He was in advanced placement classes at Bethel Park High School and won a $500 prize in 2022 for achievement in math and science. However, CNN also reported that Crooks was bullied there.
After graduation, he attended Community College of Allegheny County, worked as a dietary aide at a Bethel Park nursing home and planned to attend Robert Morris University, per a representative from the school.
While Crooks became a member of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, Myke Cole reported for Slate that the young man “had no military training and was reportedly barred from his high school rifle team – he had such bad aim he was considered “dangerous” and a potential risk for accidentally harming his teammates.”
However, sources told ABC Crooks would borrow his father’s AR-15 rifle to do target shooting there at the sportsmen’s club. In fact, he allegedly told his father he was going the morning of Trump’s rally in Butler.
“The owner of Allegheny Arms, a gun store near the Crooks home, said no one from the Crooks family bought a weapon at the store. But store owner Bruce Piendl said he could not confirm or deny that Crooks bought ammunition from the store,” said WTAE.
The gun Crooks used in the shooting was legally purchased, according to the FBI. So far, the bureau has searched the shooter’s home and vehicle, where suspicious devices were found. It also continues to search through his phone.
A motive for the shooting has not yet been determined. WTAE said Crooks donated $15 to a pro-Democratic Party political action committee in January 2021, but records also show he registered to vote as a Republican. Neighbors said they saw pro-Trump signs in the Crooks’ yard recently.
“We encourage anyone with information that may assist with the ongoing investigation to continue to submit it online at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI,” said the FBI.