Matthew Brian Crooks: Father of would-be Donald Trump assassin Thomas Crooks breaks silence

Max Corstorphan

The Nightly

2 Min Read

24 Jul 2024

Matthew Brian Crooks speaking to law enforcement in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Credit: Aaron Josefczyk/REUTERS

The father of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin who tried to kill Donald Trump, has broken his silence after the shooting that shocked the world.

Crooks fired multiple rounds from the roof of a building near where Trump was speaking, clipping the former president’s ear, before being fatally shot by a Secret Service counter-sniper.

Spotted purchasing groceries, his father, Matthew Brian Crooks, pleaded for space.

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“We just want to try to take care of ourselves right now. Please, just give us our space,” Mr Crooks, 53, said to Fox News as he loaded bag-loads of items into his car.

“We’re going to release a statement when our legal counsel advises us to do so – until then, we have no comment.”

The FBI is investigating what motivated Crooks.

Investigators who searched his phone found photos of Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden and other senior government officials. They also found Crooks had looked up the dates for the Democratic National Conventional and Trump’s appearances.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old would-be assassin who shot Donald Trump, has been pictured for the first time just hours after he was shot and killed by the Secret Service. The registered Republican and 2022 high school graduate opened fire at the former president with an AR-style rifle from a roof 130 yards from the rally stage in Butler, Pennsylvania , on Saturday at 6.15pm. Images of Crooks wearing glasses, braces, and an American flag t-shirt in a yearbook headshots emerged on Sunday morning, hours after he tried to take out the presumptive Republican nominee and killed a member of the rally crowd. — Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old would-be assassin who shot Donald Trump. Credit: X

US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned after the agency came under harsh scrutiny for its failure to stop a would-be assassin from wounding the former president during a campaign rally.

One of the bullets intended for Mr Trump killed 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore, a spectator.

Corey Comperatore (centre), the retired fire chief of Buffalo Township, was sitting behind the former president. Credit: Facebook

The Secret Service, which is responsible for the protection of current and former US presidents, faces a crisis after a gunman was able to fire on Trump from a roof overlooking the outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

The Secret Service faces investigations from multiple congressional committees and the internal watchdog of the US Department of Homeland Security, its parent organisation, over its performance.

— With AAP