Assassination Attempt at Trump Rally: A Closer Look at Thomas Crooks

Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old engineering student, carried out an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a rally, injuring Trump and killing one spectator. Interviews with over two dozen people, including law enforcement and school associates, reveal details about Crooks' background, but his motives remain unclear.

Thomas Crooks was pacing next to a warehouse building outside the Butler Farm Show grounds as a crowd gathered for one of former President Donald Trump's signature outdoor rallies.

Crooks had already been flagged as suspicious by law enforcement. By the time two police officers walked over to check him out, he was on the roof, belly crawling. "He's got a gun," a bystander yelled.

One officer hoisted the other to the lip of the roof. As the officer pulled his head over the edge, a long-haired young man wearing glasses turned toward him, wielding an AR-15 -style rifle. The officer dropped back to the ground, the Butler County sheriff told Reuters. Crooks, an introverted 20-year-old computer whiz who had just earned a spot at a college engineering program, turned back to his target about 400 feet away. He squeezed off several shots at Trump, clipping the former president's ear, killing an audience member and wounding two others before Secret Service snipers on a nearby building killed him with counterfire.

This account of the first assassination attempt to injure a U.S. president since 1981 is based on interviews with more than two dozen people, including law enforcement officials, Crooks' school associates and witnesses who attended the rally, along with public records and news accounts. Crooks fired his rifle at approximately 6:10 pm, according to a Reuters photographer at the rally. Trump winced and grabbed his right ear. Secret Service agents tackled the former president and some supporters dived for cover. A bullet hit what appeared to be the hydraulic line of a forklift that held a bank of speakers to the right side of the stage. Fluid spewed across the crowd and the lift's arm collapsed. To the left, screams erupted where a spectator had been fatally shot.

As Secret Service agents tackled the former president, some supporters scrambled for safety. Others grabbed children and hustled towards the gates. "The audience wasn't like what you'd expect out of a crowd that just experienced something like this," said Saurabh Sharma, a Trump supporter sitting near the front. "Everyone was really quiet. There were a few women crying. They were, you know, saying, 'I can't believe they tried to kill him'."

(With inputs from agencies.)