Matthew Crooks, the father of Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, was spotted in public for the first time this week.
Confronted by a swarm of cameras, the elder Crooks broke his silence about his son and his role in his attempt to kill the former president.
Matthew Crooks and a masked woman were spotted in the parking lot leaving a local grocery store. When asked to comment, he said:
“We’re going to release a statement when our legal counsel advises us to do so – until then, we have no comment,” Crooks told Fox News Digital before beginning to load items into the vehicle. “We just want to try to take care of ourselves right now. Please, just give us our space.”
You can see the entire — albeit brief — encounter here:
Despite this being his first public appearance since the shooting, Crooks’ family members have reportedly cooperated with the FBI as investigators try to determine a motive for the near assassination.
Investigators are trying to piece together how Crooks was able to evade security around the site of Trump’s rally on July 13 at the Butler Farm Show property. He climbed onto the roof of an AGR manufacturing building about 150 yards from Trump’s podium and fired off several shots before snipers killed him.
Crooks was spotted with a rangefinder before the shooting, and investigators are looking into how he was able to avoid law enforcement and climb onto the roof with his father’s rifle.
Lawmakers visited the shooting site on Monday as Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle (who resigned this week) testified before Congress about the security failures for the rally.
A motive for the shooting remains unclear. Crooks was a member of a local gun club, and he bought ammunition before the attack.
According to multiple reports, Crooks’ parents called police hours before the shooting, saying that he was missing and that they were concerned about his welfare. It is unclear whether they knew that he was in possession of the rifle that was registered to his father.
Both Matthew and Mary Crooks are licensed as professional counselors, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State Licensing System Verification Service.
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2020. In May, he earned an associate’s degree in engineering from the Community College of Allegheny County.
Crooks reportedly planned to enroll at Robert Morris University after being accepted there and and the University of Pittsburgh.