Attack on Donald Trump: What is known about the assassin

Donald Trump’s latest campaign appearance turned into a deadly spectacle: two people were seriously injured, one died, and Trump himself escaped with a bleeding ear. Hours after the attack at the rally in the town of Butler in the state of Pennsylvania, the investigation is in full swing. The security service is gradually revealing details about the suspected shooter. This is what is known about the man:

Who shot Donald Trump?

The suspected shooter is called Matthew Crooks and, according to investigators, comes from Bethel Park, a city about 70 kilometers south of Butler, where the campaign event took place. He graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspaper reported. According to the report, he also received a $500 prize for mathematical and technical achievements from the National Math and Science Initiative. After the attack on Donald Trump, he was killed by security forces. Crooks was 20 years old.

How does Crooks’ family react?

The father of the suspected shooter told CNN that he was trying to find out what happened and that he did not want to talk about his son until he had spoken to investigators.

What was the alleged shooter’s stance on Republicans and Trump?

Crooks was registered in the voter register as a member of the opposition Republicans – Trump’s party. However, according to documents from the election commission, at the age of 17 he donated $15 to the political group ActBlue. The organization raises money for left-wing politicians and representatives of President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party. The donation was intended for the “Progressive Turnout Project”, which was intended to mobilize voters to vote for Democratic politicians. The groups did not initially respond to Reuters inquiries. Crooks would have been able to vote in a presidential election for the first time on November 5.

Were there any indications of the assassination beforehand?

Reuters was initially unable to identify any social media accounts or online posts by Crooks. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, did not respond to questions about whether messages or statements published by Crooks had been deleted because of their content.

Where did Matthew Crooks get the gun?

That is not yet clear. According to consistent US media reports, investigators have seized a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle. It is almost identical in appearance to the M16 assault rifle that the manufacturer Colt sells to the military. The AR-15 is the version for civilians. Unlike the military version, this weapon is technically not capable of continuous fire. Experienced shooters can still fire a large number of shots in a very short space of time. On one manufacturer’s website, it currently costs around 1,000 US dollars (920 euros), depending on the version.

AR-15 rifles were banned for several years, but have been freely available again since 2004. Supporters argue that millions of Americans value the AR-15 as a hunting rifle, for self-defense or for hobby use at shooting ranges. Investigators should quickly find out whether the suspected shooter had acquired and was allowed to own his weapon legally.

How did the assassin get so close to Donald Trump?

Investigators are still trying to answer this question. However, it was said that this could take days or weeks. The Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump is protected by the Secret Service – but the security measures are not as extensive as for a sitting president. It seems unlikely that a shooter could position himself so close to a sitting president, given the massive security measures and the checks of a large area around event locations.

How will the investigation proceed now?

In Crooks’ hometown, investigations were in full swing just a few hours after the shooting. Dozens of police vehicles were parked outside the house that is listed in the voter registration as Crooks’ place of residence, the newspaper “USA Today” reported. Specialists in defusing explosive devices were also deployed. The area around the residence was cordoned off with yellow police tape. The FAA closed the airspace over Bethel Park for “special security reasons.”

“They’re basically going to write his biography, they’re going to find out what his mental state was like over the last five to ten years, what he did, what he was up to, whether he went to school,” said investigative expert Steve Moore on US broadcaster CNN. They would also take a close look at his religion, his finances and all of his online activities and all other relevant aspects of his life, he continued.