2024-07-29 02:01:29
The 20-year-old received as a gift from his father the rifle he used to attack the former US president at the weekend.
US Secret Service agents shot dead on Saturday Thomas Matthew Crooksa 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate the former president and current Republican candidate, Donald Trumpwhile participating in a rally with his supporters in the town of Butler, Pennsylvania.
According to information provided by the American police, just hours before committing the attack, the perpetrator of the crime I had purchased 50 rounds of ammunition at a local gun shop.
The young man was originally from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, located about 56 kilometers south of where he shot Trumpand in 2022 graduated from Bethel Park High School.
As reported by American media, upon graduating from his college, Thomas Matthew Crooks He received a prize of 500 dollars due to his great performance in the area of ​​mathematics..
However, reports from fellow students stated that During his time in high school he was a constant victim of bullying by fellow students.
Democrat or Republican?
After the attack, and contacted by CNN for his opinion on what happened, his father, Matthew Crooks, said that I was still trying to understand what had happened.
Something that caught the attention of researchers is that in less than a year Thomas Matthew Crooks He first made a donation to an entity linked to the Democratic Party in 2021, and then later that year registered to vote as a Republican.
In addition, according to a note published by the British network BBC, court records showed that He had no criminal record.
On the other hand, according to police sources, Crooks He shot Trump with an AR-15 rifle, which had been purchased by his father less than six months before the attack.It is one of the most popular semi-automatic rifles in that country.
Along those lines, witnesses They claimed to have seen the young man at a shooting clubwhere he learned to use the long gun more effectively.
In their reports, American media reported that before being shot down by Secret Service agents, Crooks managed to shoot eight times in the game rifle AR-15.
They also stated that at the time of the attack against Donald Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks was not carrying documents, so Its identification was only achieved after checking the serial number of the rifle. which had been acquired by the young man’s father.