The United States (US) of America Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.
Trump was shot in the right ear on Saturday, July 13, at an election rally at Butler, Pennsylvania, US.
“The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania,” FBI said.
In a statement, the FBI said Crooks was from Bethel Park which is about 70km (43 miles) or an hour’s drive from Butler, the site of the attempted assassination.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is encouraged to submit photos or videos online,” the statement added.
This comes after the Secret Service had confirmed that the assassin was dead alongside one other person who attended the rally.
Eyewitness Recounts Moment Before Shooting
An eyewitness who spoke to the BBC stated that he together with his friends warned the Secret Service and the police about the gunman before the event started.
The man narrated that at the beginning they could only hear the assassin crawling on the roof of the building next to where the event was, but they could not see him.
“We couldn’t see him, but we could hear him. So, we walked up and probably five to seven minutes of Trump speaking, I have no idea, you know, but we noticed a guy bear crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50ft away from us,” he said.
He said that they stood and saw the guy crawling up the roof adding that he had a rifle.
“We could clearly see him with a rifle. We’re pointing at him” he said.
The man added that there were police officers running around on the ground and they alerted one of them.
“We’re like, hey, man, there’s guy on the roof with a rifle. And the police were like, huh, what? You know, like they didn’t know what was going on,” he said.
“We were like, hey, right here on the roof, we can see him from right here. We see him, you know, he’s crawling.”
Also Read: President Biden & Obama React After Donald Trump Assassination Attempt
Secret Service Allowed Trump Continue Talking
Additionally, the man said they were shocked the Secret Service allowed Trump to continue talking even after they pointed at a possible assassin.
“And next thing you know, I’m thinking to myself like, why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage?” he posed.
“I’m standing there pointing at him for, you know, two, three minutes. Secret service is looking at us from the top of the barn and next thing you know, five shots ring,” he added.
When the reporter asked whether he was certain that the shots came from that guy on the roof, the man said he was 100% sure.
He also wondered why there were no secret service on all of the roofs near the shooting scene stating that it was not a big place.
When asked what happened to the assassin after he fired, the man said, “They blew his head off. Secret service blew his head off. They crawled up on the roof. They had their guns pointed at him, to make sure he was dead. He was dead and that was it.”
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Biden & Obama Condemn Assassination Attempt
President Joe Biden condemned the incident and expressed relief that his predecessor is safe and doing well.
Former U.S President Barack Obama wished his successor a quick recovery and emphasized that political violence cannot be tolerated in the U.S.
In the incident, Trump was about six minutes into his remarks when gun shots were heard.
Afterwards, Trump grabbed his right ear and then got to the floor, and the Secret Service rushed to the stage and piled on top of him for protection.
The agents then helped him stand up and took him from the stage to a waiting vehicle.
Trump repeatedly pumped his fist in the air and waved as the crowd cheered with blood on the side of his head and his ear.
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