Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old suspect who shot former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, appeared briefly in a 2022 advertisement for BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager.
The ad was shot at Bethel Park High School in Pennsylvania and features Crooks and several other unpaid students in the background, according to a statement from the investment giant. Crooks is set to graduate from the school in 2022.
BlackRock said it had withdrawn the ad but would provide the video to authorities, but it has been widely shared by social media users.
“The assassination attempt against former President Trump is abhorrent. We are grateful that former President Trump was not seriously injured and our thoughts are with the bystanders and victims of this horrific act, especially the individual who was murdered,” the company added in a statement.
BlackRock, which is scheduled to report earnings today, has faced increased scrutiny in the wake of the shooting because some of its index funds hold shares in gun makers.
Trump assassination attempt
Trump survived an assassination attempt on Saturday when a gunman attacked him at a rally in Pennsylvania ahead of the presidential election. The shot left Trump’s face bloodied and the bullet went through “the top of my right ear,” Trump said.
The attack left a passerby trying to protect his family dead, and Crooks, a Republican, was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.
Mr Trump, who faces a final vote for the Republican nomination today, delivered a message of unity after the attack, saying Americans must not allow “evil to prevail”. “Only God could have prevented the unthinkable,” he said on social media.
Biden also gave a rare speech from the Oval Office, urging Americans to “de-escalate our politics.” “Politics should never be a literal battlefield. It should never be a place of slaughter,” he said.
The attacks are expected to give a boost to the Trump trade in the U.S. market, where hopes are high for a Republican revival following Biden’s poor performance in last month’s debate. If the attacks spark a wave of sympathy and support for Trump, this trade could gain further momentum.
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