FORMER President of the United States (US) and Republican candidate in the upcoming elections, Donald Trump, was shot in the ear on Saturday, July 13, 2024, during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The ICIR reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the suspected shooter after he was killed at the scene.
The shooter was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
He was killed at the scene by a Secret Service sniper after firing several shots with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle during a campaign rally.
A bullet grazed the upper part of Trump’s ear, while a bystander was killed. Two other people were critically injured in the incident.
The ICIR reported that World leaders, including President Joe Biden, a Democratic candidate, who is contesting against Trump at the polls, condemned the attack.
Here are some key details about Trump’s attempted killer.
He was a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, according to the BBC.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Bethel Park is approximately 70 km (43 miles) from Butler, where the attempted assassination took place.
Crooks attended Bethel Park High School and graduated in 2022 and he received a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative.
A video of the ceremony, posted online shows Crooks, wearing glasses and a black graduation gown, receiving his high school diploma and posing with a school official.
According to US media, state voter records reveal that Crooks was a registered Republican. The upcoming November 5 election would have been his first chance to vote in a presidential race.
In 2021, a Federal Election Commission filing showed that Crooks, at age 17, donated $15 to ActBlue, a political action committee supporting left-leaning and Democratic politicians. This donation was part of a national initiative by the Progressive Turnout Project, an organisation that encourages Democrats to vote in elections.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org