The FBI is sifting through more than 2,000 tips to determine the motives of the shooter, the now-deceased 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, just south of Pittsburgh and about 40 miles south of where the Butler rally was held, about an hour from his home.
Crooks, who took aim at former President Donald Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa., Saturday, had no prior criminal record, and was a registered Republican. This November would have been the first time he could vote in a presidential election.
Monday the FBI announced it believes Crooks acted alone, and the shooting was being investigated as a potential act of domestic terrorism.
In a joint statement, the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania have announced they are working together on the investigation as an assassination attempt. Republicans in Congress have also called for the Senate Homeland Security Committee to investigate.
Prior to the rally, he was reportedly in the area of the perimeter of the rally arena and grandstands, acting suspicious. One way or another, he ended up on a rooftop adjacent to the rally site, about 480 feet from the stage with an AR-style rifle, possibly an AR-15, the same style gun used in Parkland shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in 2019. ATF traced the gun and said it was legally purchased by Crooks’ father as early as 2013.
When the shooting began, the first three to four shots heard on video came from Crooks. The next four to five shots are Secret Service snipers, from another rooftop behind the stage, returning fire back at Crooks, who was identified by DNA, as no identification was found on him after being shot and killed by the Secret Service return fire.
While one of Crooks’ shots struck Trump, another hit Corey Comperatore, 50, a Buffalo Township volunteer firefighter. He was the rally attendee who was killed.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro paid tribute to who he called a hero for shielding his family from the gunfire.
“He died a hero. He loved his community and most especially his family,” Shapiro said. “His family will have an empty seat at the dinner table forever. We need to make sure his memory is a blessing.”
“He died protecting his family,” President Joe Biden said Saturday night from Rehoboth Beach, Del., before returning to the White House. “God love him.”
Two other men who were shot in the attack, David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, were hospitalized and listed in stable condition as of the last update available.
A GoFundMe account organized by Trump finance director Meredith O’Rourke to be “a place for donations to the supporters and families wounded or killed in today’s brutal and horrific assassination attempt” had raised over $4 million through Tuesday.