BREAKING: Thomas Mathew Crooks Identified As Shooter That Attempted To Assassinate Trump

Thomas Mathew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a community located approximately 42 miles south of Butler, where the Rally was held, has been identified as the shooter.

Crooks had planted himself on the roof of a manufacturing plant approximately 140 yards away outside of the security area. One of the bullets he fired grazed the right ear of President Trump, another killed a rally attendee, and two others were critically injured. Secret Service snipers killed crooks, and an AR-style rifle was recovered.  

The investigation is in its early stages, so whether or not Crooks acted alone is still unclear. When asked that question, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. Bivens said:

“It will be some time until we can conclusively say or answer that question. We are not taking for granted that this was a lone wolf attack.”

Two witnesses at the scene of the shooting have raised concerns about the response time of the police and security. Easton Smith, who was outside the security perimeter at the rally, reported seeing a man climbing up the roof of a nearby building. Smith described what happened in this way:

“Didn’t know what he was doing, trying to alert cops and police there was a guy crawling on the roof. Then we saw a rifle slinged over his shoulder. After that, a couple shots fired off.”

Another witness named Greg Smith told BBC News Crooks had crawled on top of the building just outside the event. He said he pointed the gunman out to the police.

“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why is Trump still speaking, why have they not pulled him off the stage’ … the next thing you know, five shots ring out.”

Smith was listening from outside the rally and claimed to have seen the gunman five minutes into Trump’s speech.

“We noticed the guy bear-crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50 feet away. He had a rifle, we could clearly see a rifle. We’re pointing at him, the police are down there running around on the ground, we’re, like, ‘Hey man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle’… and the police did not know what was going on.”

Smith added he tried to alert the authorities for three to four minutes but thought they probably couldn’t see the gunman because of the slope of the roof.

Later, he witnessed agents taking out the gunman.

“They crawled up on the roof, they had their guns pointed at him, made sure he was dead. He was dead, and that was it — it was over.”

At the rally, Two firefighters from nearby Steubenville, Ohio, told the AP that they helped people who appeared injured and heard bullets hitting broadcast speakers.

One firefighter, Chris Takach stated:

“The bullets rattled around the grandstand, one hit the speaker tower, and then chaos broke. We hit the ground, and then the police converged into the grandstands.”

The other, Dave Sullivan described the chaotic scene this way:

“After we heard the shots got fired, then the hydraulic line was spraying all around, you could see the hydraulic fluid coming out of it. And then the speaker tower started to fall down. Then we heard another shot that you could hear, you knew something was, it was bullets. It wasn’t firecrackers.”

Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service chief of communications, said, “The Secret Service has notified the FBI.”

The FBI has now assumed the role of the lead federal law enforcement agency in the investigation.

Trump was examined and treated at a Butler, Pennsylvania, medical facility. The President stated he felt a bullet hit his ear when the firing started. He was later released from the medical facility. He has since arrived at a New Jersey airport at approximately 3:00 am EST.

This story remains very fluid. Additional information will be forthcoming.