The chaos of July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, still feels like a fever dream for many. People are still scouring the internet asking, did they find shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks immediately, or was there a manhunt? Honestly, the answer is both simpler and more disturbing than the conspiracy theories suggest.
He was found. Almost instantly. But he wasn't found before the shots rang out, and that’s the gap that has kept the American public—and Congress—in a state of absolute disbelief for months.
The Seconds After the Shots
Let's get the blunt facts out of the way. Did they find shooter Crooks alive? No. Within roughly 26 seconds of the first shot being fired at the rally, a Secret Service counter-sniper team neutralized the 20-year-old on the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building. He was dead before most of the crowd even realized what was happening.
It wasn't a mystery of "who" for long.
Law enforcement recovered his body on that hot rooftop, just about 150 yards from the stage where President Donald Trump had been speaking. He had a DPMS Panther Arms AR-15-style rifle next to him. Because he wasn't carrying identification, the FBI had to use rapid DNA analysis and biometric data to confirm his identity. By the next morning, the name Thomas Matthew Crooks was everywhere.
Why the Search Process Was a Total Mess
You’ve probably seen the grainy cell phone footage. People were literally pointing at the roof. They were shouting. One guy, Greg Smith, told the BBC he saw the guy crawling up the roof with a rifle and tried to alert the police for three or four minutes.
So, when people ask did they find shooter suspects in the crowd, they’re touching on a massive failure of communication. Local police did find him suspicious earlier in the day. A local counter-sniper snapped a photo of him at 5:38 PM—nearly 30 minutes before the shooting. He was seen using a rangefinder.
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Think about that.
The system "found" him as a Person of Interest (POI) long before he became a shooter. But the info didn't travel fast enough. A local officer even climbed up to the roof, saw Crooks, and then dropped back down when Crooks pointed the rifle at him. Seconds later, the shooting started. It’s a sequence of events that feels like a script from a bad thriller, but it was real life.
The Search for a Motive
Finding the body was the easy part. Finding out why has been an absolute nightmare for the FBI. Usually, in these high-profile cases, there's a manifesto. A social media rant. A political affiliation that makes it all click.
With Crooks? Nothing.
He was a registered Republican. He also gave 15 dollars to a progressive PAC on the day Biden was inaugurated. His classmates at Bethel Park High School described him as quiet, maybe a bit of an outcast, but not someone who screamed "political assassin."
The FBI searched his phone. They searched his car (where they found improvised explosive devices). They searched his parents' house. They looked at his search history, which included queries about the Oxford High School shooting and, weirdly, the distance from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK. He was looking for a target. It didn't seem to matter who it was—he just wanted a high-profile stage.
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Breaking Down the "Second Shooter" Rumors
Whenever a tragedy like this happens, the internet goes into overdrive. You've probably seen the "acoustic analysis" videos on TikTok or X. People claim the timing of the shots proves there was more than one person firing.
The FBI and the Secret Service have been incredibly firm on this: there was no second shooter. All recovered casings and the ballistic trail point back to that one rooftop.
Kinda frustrating, right? We want a bigger story. We want a complex plot. But the reality is often a lonely, disturbed kid with a rifle and a massive failure in the security perimeter. When people ask did they find shooter accomplices, the answer remains a solid no. He acted alone, using a gun his father had legally purchased.
The Security Gap: How He Got There
The AGR building was a known "high point." In any basic security sweep, you cover the high points. The Secret Service later admitted that the roof was "outside the perimeter," which basically meant they left it to local law enforcement to watch.
Local law enforcement thought the Secret Service had it covered.
It was a classic case of "not my job" that ended in a historic catastrophe. When the question of did they find shooter access points comes up, it turns out he just used a vertical air conditioning unit to climb onto the roof. No secret ladders. No inside help. Just a kid who found a blind spot in the most elite protection detail in the world.
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The Investigation Moves to the Digital World
Since the physical search ended on that roof, the search for answers shifted to the "dark web" and encrypted messaging apps.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee that Crooks used encrypted platforms. This is where things get murky. Investigators found that he had two cell phones. One was found at the scene, and another was at his home with only 27 contacts.
Most of his digital footprint was scrubbed or never existed. He didn't have a big Instagram presence. He wasn't a Reddit power user. He was a ghost in a digital age, which is exactly what made him so dangerous. He wasn't "found" by the algorithms that usually flag radicalized individuals.
What Actually Happens Next?
The investigation is technically ongoing, but the "finding" part is over. We know who did it. We know how he did it. The "why" might stay buried with him.
If you're following this story, here is what you should actually be looking for in the coming months:
- The Final FBI Report: This will detail every second of his life leading up to the Butler rally.
- Secret Service Personnel Changes: We've already seen resignations, but more accountability is expected as the internal reviews wrap up.
- Legislation on Drone Use: Crooks flew a drone over the rally site earlier in the day to scout it. Expect new laws or protocols regarding civilian drones near political events.
The reality of the situation is that finding the shooter was a 26-second tactical success and a months-long systemic failure. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most important "finding" isn't the person, but the cracks in the walls we build to keep leaders safe.
Check the official FBI vault or the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump for the most recent document dumps. Avoid the "eye-witness" accounts on social media that haven't been vetted; most of them have been debunked by the timestamped footage released by the local police bodycams.
Stay skeptical of the easy answers. The truth of how they "found" him is a lot more boring—and a lot more tragic—than the conspiracies.
Key Takeaways for Staying Informed
- Follow the House Task Force updates specifically, as they are getting the most direct testimony from local Pennsylvania officers who were on the ground.
- Look for the distinction between "Secret Service" and "Local SWAT" in reports—the tension between these two groups is where the real story of the security failure lies.
- Ignore claims of "deleted social media accounts" unless they are verified by major outlets like the AP or Reuters; many fake accounts were created in Crooks' name minutes after he was identified.