BETHEL PARK, Pa. – The father of suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks was seen in public for the first time since a 20-year-old gunman opened fire at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday, according to employees at a local business and a neighbor who viewed photos of the suspect.
At the July 13 rally, Crooks, a Bethel Park resident, slashed President Trump’s ear, killed passers-by Corey Comperatore and wounded two others, David Duch and James Copenhaver, before being shot and killed by a sniper.
Investigators visited Crooks’ family home outside Pittsburgh last week.
The man, who local residents identified as the father, and a masked woman who was with him declined to answer questions when contacted by Fox News Digital.
Timeline: Trump assassination attempt
Suspect Matthew Crooks, left, leaves a store on Monday, July 22, 2024. This was Crooks’ first public appearance since his son, Thomas Crooks, plotted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“Right now we just want to try and take care of ourselves,” Matthew Crooks said. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Matthew Crooks (right) made his first public appearance more than a week after his son killed one man and injured three at a President Trump rally. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“We will make a statement once we receive advice from our lawyers. Until then, I cannot comment,” he told Fox News Digital before beginning to load his belongings into his car. “Right now we just want to stay safe. Please give us space.”
Crooks’ family is cooperating with the FBI as it tries to determine a motive for the assassination attempt.
Secret Service Director Cheatle criticized for ‘careless’ actions before Trump assassination attempt
Fox News Digital previously reported that Crooks’ parents, Matthew and Mary, called police hours before the shooting to say he was missing and were concerned about his safety. It was unclear whether they knew Crooks had an AR-15 registered to his father.
According to the Pennsylvania Licensing System Verification Service, both Matthew and Mary Crooks are licensed professional counselors.
Undated photograph of Thomas Matthew Crookes. (Courtesy of AFP)
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2020. In May, Allegheny County Community College.
Crooks was reportedly planning to attend the university after being accepted to Robert Morris University and the University of Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania police officers were not allowed inside Secret Service command center for Trump rally, lawmakers say
Two agents believed to be federal agents entered the home of Trump shooter Thomas Crooks. (Derek Shook/Fox News Digital)
Investigators are trying to understand how Crooks escaped security around Trump’s rally at the Butler Farm Show on July 13. He climbed to the roof of the AGR Manufacturing building, about 150 yards from Trump’s podium, and fired several shots before being shot and killed by a sniper.
An undated file photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks in his yearbook. Crooks is the alleged gunman behind the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Source: Fox News Digital)
Crooks was seen holding a rangefinder before the shooting and investigators are trying to determine how he managed to evade police and climb onto the roof with his father’s rifle.
Lawmakers toured the scene of the shooting on Monday as Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified before Congress about security failings at the rally.
A motive for the shooting is unclear. Crooks was a member of a local gun club and had purchased ammunition before the attack.
FBI agents search the neighborhood of suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on Monday, July 15, 2024. Agents speak with neighbors about Crooks, who was killed Saturday after plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Click here to get the FOX News app
A former classmate of Crooks’ told Fox News Digital that the attacker had confronted him about his support for Trump several years ago and expressed a “smug” dislike for politicians.
Crooks’ online searches before the shooting included dates and times for the Democratic and Republican national conventions, photos of Presidents Trump and Biden and depression.
