Neighbours, colleagues of Trump shooter still in shock – All about “quiet and nice” Matthew Crooks

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The small Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is in shock after the FBI identified a local resident, Thomas Matthew Crooks, as the shooter at Donald Trump’s recent campaign rally.

The incident, which occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania, left one audience member dead and two others critically wounded.

Crooks, a 20-year-old kitchen worker, allegedly opened fire with an AR-style rifle while Trump was addressing the crowd. He was shot dead on the scene by a Secret Service sniper.

Residents of Crooks’ quiet and affluent hometown are struggling to comprehend how a seemingly ordinary young man could be involved in such a violent act.

The FBI used DNA to identify Thomas Crooks, who did not have ID on him at the time of the incident. Crooks hailed from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, approximately 70 km (43 miles) from where he attempted to assassinate Donald Trump.

A 2022 graduate of Bethel Park High School, he had been awarded a $500 prize for excellence in math and science. Crooks worked in a local nursing home kitchen close to his residence.

US media reported that Crooks was a registered Republican but had also donated $15 to the liberal campaign group ActBlue in 2021. On the day of the shooting, Crooks was wearing a T-shirt from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel popular for its gun and demolition content.

Authorities believe the weapon used in the shooting was purchased by Crooks’ father at least six months prior. Law enforcement sources revealed that suspicious devices were found in Crooks’ vehicle, and bomb technicians were called in to investigate.

These devices appeared to be capable of being initiated by commercially available equipment found in the vehicle.

Having established Crooks’s identity, police and agencies are investigating his motive.

“We do not currently have an identified motive,” said Kevin Rojek, FBI Pittsburgh special agent in charge, at a briefing on Saturday night.

The inquiry into what took place could last for months and investigators would work “tirelessly” to identify what Crooks’ motive was, Mr Rojek said.

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 sealed off the road to the house where Crooks lived with his parents, CBS News reports.

A neighbour told CBS that officers evacuated her in the middle of the night with no warning.

Bethel Park Police said there was a bomb investigation surrounding Crooks’s home.

Access to the area remains tightly controlled, with police vehicles blocking the roads. Only residents have been allowed in or out.
Law enforcement sources told CBS that they believe there was some degree of planning ahead of the shooting.

How much time was spent in that planning, however, remains the subject of an ongoing investigation.

Police believe he acted alone but are continuing to investigate whether he was accompanied to the rally.

Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks?

So far, the image of Thomas Crooks as a person remains unclear and somewhat contradictory.

Local news outlet KDKA reported that some young locals who attended school with Crooks described him as a loner who was often bullied and occasionally wore “hunting outfits to school.”

In contrast, another former classmate, Summer Barkley, told the BBC that Crooks was “always getting good grades on tests” and was “very passionate about history.”

“Anything about government and history he seemed to know about,” he said. “But it was nothing out of the ordinary. He was always nice.”
Others simply remembered him as quiet.

“He was there but I can’t think of anyone who knew him well,” one former classmate, who asked to remain nameless, told the BBC. “He’s just not a guy I really think about. But he seemed fine.

Jameson Myers, a former member of the Bethel Park High School varsity rifle team who graduated alongside Crooks in 2022, told CBS that he did not make the team.

“He did not even make the junior varsity team after trying out,” Mr Myers added.

“He never returned to try-outs for the remainder of high school.”

Mr Myers remembers Crooks as seemingly a “normal boy” who was “not particularly popular but never got picked on or anything.”

“He was a nice kid who never talked poorly of anyone and I never thought him capable of anything I’ve seen him do in the last few days.”
Other community members said simply that 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 lives near the Crooks residence and worked at his school while he was a student.
While Mr Mackey said that he did not know Crooks personally, he is still reeling from a sense of disbelief.

“It’s just shocking. You wouldn’t think an event of this magnitude would come right out of your backyard,” he said. “It’s just a crazy situation.”

Did he hit anyone?

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

All three victims are adult men and were audience members, CBS News reports.

At a news conference on Sunday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro identified the deceased victim at Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer fire chief who was killed when he “dived on his family” to protect them.

He said that Comperatore “died a hero”.

A GoFundMe page, organised by the Trump campaign’s national finance director, Meredith O’Rourke, was set up in the hours after the attack, with donations going to the families of the injured.

It has so far raised more than $340,000 (£267,000).

In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear” and said he felt the bullet “ripping through the skin.”.

Blood was visible on Trump’s ear and face as protection officers rushed him away.

Trump is “doing well” and is grateful to law enforcement officers, according to a statement published on the Republican National Committee (RNC) website.

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