In a statement released Sunday, July 14, 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified Crooks as a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles south of Butler, where Trump was holding his rally.
Crooks is reported to have opened fire from a nearby building rooftop, causing panic in the crowd. Photos and videos that went viral on social media moments after the shooting showed Trump holding his bloodied ear before dropping to the ground, where Secret Service agents helped him take cover.
Trump was rushed off stage, but not before boldly pumping his fist into the air and twice telling the crowd to "fight!" He was then taken by car to a hospital in the Pittsburgh area.
Later, he posted on social media that he had been hit by a bullet in the upper part of his ear.
'I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump's campaigners said the Republican was doing 'fine' after the shooting.
Authorities have since confirmed that one person was killed and two others were left in critical condition after the shooting.
Crooks was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene and the FBI has promised investigations into the shocking incident.
Media reports indicate that Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022.
Preliminary investigations show that he was registered to vote as a Republican, according to a listing in Pennsylvania's voter database that matched his name, age, and a Bethel Park address.
This year's presidential election would have been his first voting.
President Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term in the forthcoming polls, condemned the shooting incident, adding that he was grateful Trump is 'safe and doing well.'
'Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There's no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it,' Biden said in a statement.
Trump, a member of the Republican Party, is running for a second, non-consecutive term in the November 5, 2024, general election after losing to Biden in the 2020 polls.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
