Bethel Park, Pennsylvania – The Pennsylvania gun store where would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks bought ammunition before trying to kill former President Donald Trump at a rally near Butler County has vowed to provide its full support to law enforcement as investigators seek to solve Saturday’s attack.
“As responsible members of the community, it is our right to cooperate with law enforcement in any way possible,” Allegheny Arms owner Bruce Piendl told Fox News Digital. “We are grateful that President Trump was not assassinated and our hearts go out to all of the victims of this horrific incident.”
Authorities said President Trump sustained injuries to his right ear in the attack, a spectator named Corey Comperatore was killed, and two bystanders, David Duch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were seriously injured.
The FBI, which is leading the investigation into Crooks’ actions, has previously said he is not under the watch of any federal law enforcement agency and has no criminal or mental health history.
FBI visits Pennsylvania gun club where Trump assassin belonged
The owner of the Allegheny Arms had pledged to fully support and cooperate with law enforcement as authorities investigate suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks for attempting to assassinate President Trump. (Michael Lewis/Fox News Digital)
The 20-year-old Bethel Park native graduated from his local high school in 2022. Classmates described him as quiet, a bit of an outsider and a target for bullying, but also remembered him as a good student who excelled in math and computers.
He studied engineering at Allegheny County Community College while working in a nursing home kitchen.
On the day of the shooting, he went to a gun store about a mile from his parents’ home and bought 50 rounds of ammunition. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette I reported it earlier.
Allegheny Arms describes itself as “a new concept, a new attitude for a new generation of responsible firearms owners.”[s]”Areas where sport shooting and hunting are common activities.”
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“Due to the ongoing investigation and out of respect for the victim, we will not be making any further statements,” the store owner added.
Federal investigators are still working to determine a motive, and a law enforcement source told Fox News on Monday that the suspect’s cellphone, laptop and the rifle used in the attack have been taken to an FBI facility in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis.
FBI agents also visited the Clairton Sportsman’s Club, where Crooks was a member.
Undated photograph of Thomas Matthew Crookes. (Courtesy of AFP)
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It was not immediately clear whether investigators found anything of evidentiary value at the shooting range, and members condemned the suspect and his actions as something their community “should not be involved in.”
A view of the Clairton Sportsman’s Club in Clairton, Pennsylvania, USA, on July 15, 2024. The club was the home of Thomas Matthew Crooks, who the FBI named as a “person of interest” in the assassination attempt on former U.S. president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)
“Obviously the club totally condemns the senseless act of violence that took place. [Saturday]”The club also extends its heartfelt condolences to Mr. Comperatore’s family and sends its prayers to all those injured, including our former president,” club lawyer Rob Bootey said in a statement.
Sources said Crooks used a DPMS AR-15 5.56 rifle in the attack, which his father purchased legally in 2013, but not from Allegheny Arms.
An undated file photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks. 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)
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A search of the suspect’s home and vehicle concluded Sunday night. The FBI also said it had interviewed about 100 witnesses, including law enforcement officials, by Monday afternoon.
If you have any information about this incident, http://tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Authorities approached the spot where the suspected gunman fell after the U.S. Secret Service returned fire during the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. (Source: Fox News Digital)
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Dave Katz, a former federal firearms instructor and CEO of Global Security Group, said if anyone would have noticed warning signs before the attack, it wouldn’t have been people he encountered at the range or in the store, but the people he spent the most time with — friends, family, coworkers and classmates.
“If a shooter can walk in and out of the range with a normal attitude, where are the red flags?” he told Fox News Digital. “If you look at the Northern Lights, [Colorado] The theater shooter. He went to the shooting range three days ago, but the owner kicked him out because he was misbehaving.”
Fox News’ CB Cotton, Sarah Rumpf Whitten, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
