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Jimmy Williams
The man who authorities said attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania was a member of a local gun club and worked as a dietary aide at a nursing facility.
Identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, he was killed by at least one U.S. Secret Service sharpshooter during the incident, authorities reported.
During the attack on Saturday in Butler, Crooks fatally shot Corey Comperatore, 50, a former fire chief at the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company. Two others were injured and are in stable condition. Crooks used a semiautomatic rifle, and investigators are determining whether the gun belonged to his father and was legally purchased.
Crooks fired eight shots before being neutralized, according to an official citing preliminary findings. Multiple suspicious canisters or containers were found in Crooks’ vehicle, though it remains unclear whether they were functional as incendiary or explosive devices. Despite his family’s cooperation, Crooks’ motive remains unclear. The Pentagon confirmed he had no affiliation with the U.S. military.
He was a member of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club in Pittsburgh, which features various shooting ranges. “We’re sick over this,” said club president Bill Sellitto. The club issued a statement condemning the violence and offering condolences to the Comperatore family and prayers for all those injured, including Trump.
Crooks worked as a dietary aide at the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, which confirmed his background check was clean and expressed shock at his involvement. Bethel Park, where Crooks lived, is a predominantly white, relatively affluent city in the southern reaches of greater Pittsburgh, about an hour’s drive south of the rally site in Butler.
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, where he received a National Math & Science Initiative Star Award. Former classmates described him as a loner who was bullied and often dressed in hunting outfits. He was generally reserved and quiet, with no apparent political outspokenness or significant social media presence.
Neighbors and acquaintances expressed shock and disbelief upon learning of Crooks’ actions. Dan Grzybek, a Democrat on the Allegheny County council, recalled a pleasant conversation with Crooks’ parents during a door-knocking campaign but had no previous interaction with Crooks himself. Pennsylvania voter records listed a Thomas Matthew Crooks as a registered Republican.
The investigation into the attempted assassination and Crooks’ background continues as authorities seek to understand his motives and prevent future violence.
