Hours after a bullet grazed former US president Donald Trump' ear at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday sending shockwaves throughout the country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the assassin as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
"The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania," the FBI said in a statement.
The investigation agency has now released a photo of the young attacker. The image shows the 20-year-old wearing glasses and smiling into the camera.
Crooks was shot down by Secret Service snipers after he fired multiple shots at the former US president in the rally from a nearby rooftop. Witnesses claimed they tried to warn the security officials about a man moving from roof to roof nearby and laying on his stomach with a gun pointed at the rally.
An assault rifle, AR-15, was found near his body.
Described as a "quiet" student and a "loner", Crooks had graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, and received a $500 "star award" from the National Math and Science Initiative.
A registered Republican, the upcoming November 5 election would have been the first time he would have voted in a presidential election.
His schoolmates labelled him as "socially reserved" and did not recall him ever discussing politics or Trump but mentioned that he was often bullied at school. "He was quiet but he was just bullied. He was bullied so much," a student told local US media.
After graduating, he had been working at a nursing home.
Following the attack, a "suspicious device" was found inside his car, which is now being inspected by bomb technicians. Officials are now searching through his phone.
The Sunday attack was a close call for Trump, who is currently in the middle of a bid to be re-elected as the President of the United States. Videos show that a last second tilt of his head saved the leader's life as the bullet clipped his ear.
A video showed the 78-year-old Republican leader, with blood smeared on his face, raising his fist and muttering "Fight! Fight!" as Secret Service agents whisked him off the stage after the attack.
