Father of would-be Trump assassin called 911 looking for son hours after shooting: ‘We’re pretty worried’
The father of Donald Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks called police out of concern about his son’s disappearance hours after the July 13 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, newly obtained audio revealed.
At 10:56 p.m., nearly five hours after Trump was shot, Matthew Crooks called 911, concerned because his son had been silent on the radio since mid-afternoon, he said. .
Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face, surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is removed from the stage during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images
“Hello, yes. Um, my name is Matthew Crooks. I was calling about my son, Thomas. Um, he belongs to the Clairton Sportsman Club.”
“The reason I’m calling is he left the house here around a quarter to two this afternoon, and we haven’t had any contact from him, no texts, nothing has happened. been returned, and he hasn’t come back yet. It’s definitely not like that. “So we’re kind of worried, we don’t really know what we should do,” Crooks Sr. said, his voice firm but. slightly tense.
The recording of the call was obtained by ABC News through a records request from Allegheny County, where the Crooks family home is located.
Matthew Crooks also mentioned that his son was 20 years old.
The audio of the call stops mid-sentence from the dispatcher as she confirms when the family last heard from their son.
Thomas Matthew Crooks allegedly fired up to eight rounds from a rooftop 200-300 yards away, shooting Trump in the ear, killing one bystander and injuring two others. According to an intelligence bulletin from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, Crooks purchased 50 rounds of ammunition from a local gun store on the day of the shooting. Two improvised explosive devices were found in his car and another at his home, according to the bulletin.
According to law enforcement, only 26 seconds passed between the time he fired his first shot and the time the shooter was killed. Eleven seconds after the first shot, Secret Service counter-snipers hit their target – and 15 seconds later, Crooks was shot dead.
