Gunman Crooks 'bullied almost every day at school'

The gunman who carried out an attempted assassination on Donald Trump at a rally has been identified by the FBI.

- SHAHANA YASMIN JUSTIN ROHRLICH

Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania, opened fire while the former president was speaking on stage on Saturday.

In a press conference after the shooting, law enforcement officials said he was carrying no identification at the time of the attack and questions remain about his motive and how he was able to carry out an attack at a rally where the former president was flanked by Secret Service protection.

Crooks, 20, lived in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, located around 56km (35 miles) south of where Trump was holding his rally in Butler County. Local media reported that Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, and received a $500 “star award” that year from the National Math and Science Initiative.

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. Other students mocked him for the way he dressed, such as hunting outfits, Kohler said. “He was bullied almost every day,” Kohler told reporters. “He was just an outcast, and you know how kids are nowadays.”

Crooks was registered to vote as a Republican, according to Pennsylvania’s voter database that matched his name, age and address to public records. However, federal campaign finance reports show that he had made a $15 contribution to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called Progressive Turnout Project on 20 January 2021, CNN reported.

Law enforcement officials said that Crooks fired from the elevated roof of a shed outside of the security perimeter on Saturday, around 150m (500ft) from where Mr Trump was speaking.