Fox News Digital has released exclusive footage of Matthew Crooks, the father of Thomas Matthew Crooks, who recently shot President Trump and killed former fire chief Corey Comperatore. The footage shows Matthew Crooks outside a store, marking the first time he has been seen in public since the incident, which also injured David Dutch and James Copenhaver.
In the video, a Fox News reporter approaches Matthew Crooks, asking, “Matthew, why would your son want to kill the president?” The man accompanying Crooks, a woman wearing a mask, tells the reporter to “back off,” while Crooks himself says, “No comment.” He later adds, “We’re going to release a statement when our legal counsel advises us to do so. Until then, we have no comment. We just want to try to take care of ourselves right now. Please, just give us our space.”
WATCH:
According to Fox News:
On Monday, Matthew Crooks was seen in public for the first time since his 20-year-old son opened fire at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The footage, confirmed by a local business employee and a neighbor, shows Crooks and a masked woman declining to answer questions when approached by Fox News Digital.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, was shot and killed by snipers after grazing Trump’s ear with a bullet during the rally on July 13. In addition to killing bystander Corey Comperatore, he also injured two others, David Dutch and James Copenhaver.
Investigators have been visiting the Crooks family home in their suburban Pittsburgh neighborhood over the past week. Fox News previously reported that both of Thomas Crooks’ parents, Mary Elizabeth Crooks and Matthew Brian Crooks, are licensed professional counselors, as verified by the Pennsylvania Department of State Licensing System.