Who Shot Donald Trump?

Thomas Matthew Crooks shot former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday night. Officials say the 20-year-old local “acted alone” in the assassination attempt but an “active investigation [is] underway.”

Crooks was killed by police after he shot Trump in the ear, killed a rally attendee protecting his family, and injured two others.

Dangerous shooter: Crooks was armed with a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle purchased by his father, according to reports.

In high school, Crooks tried out for the rifle team but was turned away because he had a bad shot, the rifle team’s current captain, Frederick Mach, told reporters. Another member of the team, Jameson Murphy, added that his shooting was considered so “dangerous” that he was “asked not to come back.”

Crooks had been a member of a local shooting club, the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, for at least a year.

During the attack, Crooks wore a Demolition Ranch T-shirt, a YouTube channel featuring videos of guns and explosive devices. Investigators later found explosives and bomb-making material in his car.

Quiet family: Crooks’s uncle, Mark Crooks, said he had not seen Crooks or his parents for years.

The kid is like a stranger to me. They’re private and they don’t reach out to anybody any time.
—Mark Crooks

The shooter’s parents, Matthew and Mary Crooks, are behavioral health counselors, according to state licensing records. His father told cnn in a brief phone call that he would not discuss information with reporters but was talking to law enforcement.

Bullied: Classmates and others who attended high school with Crooks said he was shy, sat alone at lunch, and was “bullied every day.”

ActBlue donor: State voter records showed that Crooks was a registered Republican. However, on Jan. 20, 2021, the day Joe Biden was sworn into office, Crooks donated $15 to ActBlue, a liberal political action committee.

Illusive? Investigators say they do not yet know Crooks’s motive. They say his social media accounts have no threatening comments of ideological positions, and they are unable to access his phone.

A miracle: Much is still unknown about the attempt to assassinate President Trump. Officials say they do not know how the young Pennsylvanian was able to climb onto the roof and fire several shots at the presidential candidate.

Many are saying the fact that Trump was not killed was a miracle, including Trump himself.

It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.
—Donald Trump

Donald Trump is receiving divine protection. To understand why, read “God Isn’t Finished With Trump.”