What we know about Donald Trump’s attacker

The small Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park in Pennsylvania is reeling after the FBI named a local man, Thomas Matthew Crooks, as the shot Donald Trump at a campaign rally and shocked the whole country.

Investigators believe Crooks, armed with an AR-style rifle, opened fire on the former president as he spoke to a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one audience member and seriously wounding two others.

Officials said the 20-year-old kitchen worker was shot dead at the scene by a Secret Service sniper.

But in his quiet, well-off town, neighbors were shocked, seemingly unable to understand why a quiet young man would be accused of shooting.

For its part, the FBI has said only that Crooks is “a person of interest in the assassination of the former president” and that an investigation is ongoing.

The FBI said Thomas Crooks did not have identification on him, so investigators used DNA to identify him.

He is from Bethel Park in Pennsylvania, about 70km (43 miles) from the site of the attempted assassination, and graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 with a $500 prize for math and science, according to a local newspaper.

According to the BBC, Crooks worked in the kitchen of a local nursing home just a short drive from his home.

According to US media, state voter records show he is a registered Republican.

He also reportedly donated $15 to the liberal campaign group ActBlue in 2021.

According to US media reports, Crooks was wearing a T-shirt from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel known for its gun and demolition content. The channel has millions of subscribers and features videos of various guns and explosive devices.

Law enforcement officials believe the weapon used to shoot Donald Trump was purchased by Crook’s father, the Associated Press reported.

Two unnamed police officers told the AP that Crooks’ father bought a gun at least six months ago.

A day after the shooting, law enforcement sources also told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that suspicious devices were found in Crooks’ car.

According to CBS, the suspect had a commercial device capable of activating these devices.

Bomb disposal experts were called to the scene to secure and investigate the devices.

After identifying Crooks, police and other agencies are investigating his motive.

“We have not determined a motive at this time,” Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge in Pittsburgh, said at a news conference Saturday evening.

Mr Rojek said the investigation into what happened could last for months and investigators would work “tirelessly” to determine Crooks’ motive.

Speaking to CNN, Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, said he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking about his son.

Police have blocked off the road leading to the home where Crooks lived with his parents, CBS News reported.

A neighbor told CBS that police evacuated her in the middle of the night without warning.

Bethel Park police said there is an investigation into a bombing around Crooks’ home.

Access to the area remains tightly controlled with police cars blocking the road. Only residents are allowed in and out.

Law enforcement sources told CBS they believe there was pre-planning in the shooting.

However, the time spent on that planning remains the subject of an ongoing investigation.

Police believe he acted alone, but are continuing to investigate whether he accompanied them to the protest.

To date, a confusing — and sometimes contradictory — picture of Crooks the man has emerged.

Speaking to local news outlet KDKA, several local teenagers who attended school with him described him as a loner who was often bullied and sometimes wore “hunting clothes to school.”

Another former school friend, Summer Barkley, described him differently, telling the BBC that he “always got good grades in exams” and was “very passionate about history”.

“Anything about government and history, he seemed to know,” he said. “But nothing unusual….he was always nice.”

Others remember him only for being a man of few words.

“He was there but I can’t think of anyone who knew him well,” a former classmate, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC. “He wasn’t someone I really thought of. But he seemed okay.

Jameson Myers, a former member of the Bethel Park High School rifle team who graduated with Crooks in 2022, told CBS he was not allowed on the team.

“He didn’t even make the junior varsity team after trying out,” Myers added. “He never tried out again for the rest of his high school career.”

Mr Myers remembers Crooks as a “normal boy” who was “not very popular but was never bullied or anything”.

“He’s a good kid, never said a bad word about anyone and I never thought he was capable of doing anything I’ve seen him do in the last few days.”

Other community members said they were shocked that the alleged perpetrator of the shooting could have come from the quiet green streets of Bethel Park.

Among them was Jason Mackey, a 27-year-old local man who lived near Crooks’ home and worked at his school as a student.

While Mr Mackey said he did not know Crooks, he was still reeling from the feeling of disbelief.

“It’s shocking. You wouldn’t expect something of this scale to happen in your backyard,” he said. “It’s just a crazy situation.”

One person was killed and two others were injured in the shooting.

CBS News reported that all three victims were adult men and spectators.

During a press conference on Sunday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro identified the deceased as Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer fire captain who died when he “rushed into his family” to protect them.

He said that Comperatore “died a hero”.

A GoFundMe page, set up by Trump campaign national finance director Meredith O’Rourke, was set up hours after the attack to raise money for the families of those injured.

So far, the project has raised more than $340,000 (£267,000).

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he was “shot through the upper part of my right ear by a bullet” and said he felt the bullet “rip through my skin”.

Blood could be seen on Trump’s ears and face as security guards rushed him away.

According to a statement posted on the Republican National Committee (RNC) website, Trump is “fine” and grateful to law enforcement officers.

A witness told the BBC he saw a man – believed to be Crooks – holding a rifle on the roof of the building before Trump was shot.

Video obtained by TMZ shows the moment the shooting began.

CBS News reported that the attacker opened fire with “an AR-style rifle.”

Law enforcement sources also told CBS that he was reported by a passerby and identified as a suspicious person by police, but police lost track of him before the shooting began.

However, the FBI said it did not immediately know what type of gun was used or how many shots were fired.

A Secret Service sniper returned fire and killed the gunman, the agency said.

Footage then shows armed police approaching a body on the roof of the building.