July 14th 2024.
During a rally yesterday, a man named Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on former President Donald Trump. However, within moments, members of a US Secret Service tactical team shot and killed Crooks. Federal authorities have since identified Crooks as the shooter and have stated that he was neutralized by the Secret Service team assigned to protect the former president.
The shooting took place at a farm show in Butler, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Crooks fired from an elevated position on the roof of a nearby manufacturing plant, which was over 200 feet away from where Trump was addressing the crowd. One of the shots grazed the presidential candidate's ear. To stay updated on this developing story, you can read Metro's live blog.
At the scene, an AR-style rifle was found, but details about the attempted assassination remain scarce as the investigation is still in its early stages. What is known, however, is that Crooks was a 20-year-old resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. According to state voter and public court records, he was a registered Republican with no criminal history. Bethel Park is a predominantly white and affluent city, located about 40 miles south of where the rally was held.
The New York Times reports that Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 and received an award of around $500 from the National Math and Science Initiative. Next, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that the airspace over the city has been closed for security reasons. The Intercept has revealed that Crooks had previously made a donation to the ActBlue political action committee, a Democrat fundraising platform, on January 20, 2021 – the day President Biden was inaugurated.
Interestingly, at the time of the donation, Crooks was only 17 years old. But by the end of the year, he had turned 18 and registered to vote as a Republican. It has also been reported that he previously donated to the Democratic Party before changing his party affiliation. NBC News claims to have verified photos of Crooks lying on the roof of the manufacturing plant wearing a grey T-shirt with an American flag on the sleeve. The shirt matches an item available for sale on the website of Demolition Ranch, a popular firearms YouTube channel.
During the incident, Trump was seen raising a defiant fist in iconic images that will undoubtedly become synonymous with this year's presidential race. The channel has over 11 million subscribers and frequently posts videos testing various firearms. As of now, Crooks' motives for the shooting and whether he acted alone or had accomplices are unclear. The identities of the individuals who were killed or injured at the rally have also not been disclosed. This unfortunate event marks the most serious attempt on a president's life since the shooting of Ronald Reagan in 1981.
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