A 20-year-old nursing-home employee from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been identified as the man who tried to assassinate former president Donald Trump at a rally.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, a registered Republican, apparently packed explosives in his vehicle and drove to the campaign rally an hour from his home.
Officers later recovered an AR-style rifle at the scene of the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was addressing a crowd.
An investigation is now underway to discover what motivated him to open fire on the rally from a nearby rooftop, killing one spectator, before he was shot dead by the Secret Service.
Crooks graduated from high school two years ago and had no past criminal offences against him, according to public court records.
The FBI said on Sunday it has not yet identified any threatening writing or social media posts by him.
Trump said on social media the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting.
The man killed was Corey Comperatore, 50, a former fire chief from the area who Pennsylvania’s governor says died a “hero” by diving onto his family to protect them.
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022.
In a video of the school’s graduation ceremony posted online, Crooks can be seen crossing the stage to receive his diploma, appearing slight of build and wearing glasses.
In his senior year, Crooks was among several students given an award for maths and science, according a report at the time.
Jason Kohler, who said he attended the same high school but did not share any classes with Crooks, said Crooks was bullied at school and sat alone at lunch time.
“He was bullied almost every day,” Mr Kohler told reporters. “He was just a outcast, and you know how kids are nowadays.”
Crooks worked at a nursing home as a dietary aid, a job that generally involves food preparation.
In a statement Marcie Grimm, from Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, said she was “shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement.”
She added that Crooks had a clean background check when he was hired.
Crooks’ political leanings were not immediately clear.
Records show Crooks was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a liberal campaign group the day President Joe Biden was sworn into office.
A police cordon has been set up near Crooks’ house in Pittsburgh which is about an hour’s drive from the site of the Trump rally.
Bomb-making materials were found inside Crooks’ vehicle near the Trump rally and at his home, according to two officials speaking off the record.
Investigators believe a rifle recovered at the scene was bought by Crooks’ father at least six months ago.
The roof where Crooks lay was less than 150 meters from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target.
Images of Crooks’ body appears to show him wearing a T-shirt from Demolition Ranch, a popular YouTube channel featuring people firing guns.
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