WASHINGTON (TND) — The world's largest money manager, BlackRock Inc, recently pulled an ad featuring the 20-year-old who shot former President Donald Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania Saturday.
The 2022 advertisement was filmed at Bethel Park High School and featured Thomas Matthew Crooks along with several other unpaid students in the background, the company explained in a statement to Fox Business.
"As our leadership team communicated to colleagues last night, BlackRock strongly condemns political violence of any kind and will do our part to promote civility and unity in the country," the company continued.
BlackRock said the ad has been pulled and will be shared with authorities but the video appears to still be in circulation by social media users.
The full statement can be read below:
"The assassination attempt on former President Trump is abhorrent. We’re thankful former President Trump wasn’t seriously injured, and thinking about all the innocent bystanders and victims of this awful act, especially the person who was killed. the statement read per Fox Business."As our leadership team communicated to colleagues last night, BlackRock strongly condemns political violence of any kind and will do our part to promote civility and unity in the country. In 2022, we ran an ad featuring a teacher from Bethel Park High School, in which several unpaid students briefly appeared in the background, including Thomas Matthew Crooks. We will make all video footage available to the appropriate authorities, and we have removed the video from circulation out of respect for the victims."
Law enforcement officials were working Sunday to learn more about Crooks to determine what motivated him to open fire on the rally from a nearby rooftop, killing one spectator, before he was shot dead by the Secret Service.
The FBI said Sunday it has not yet identified any underlying ideology or threatening writing or social media posts from Crooks, who graduated from high school two years ago and had no past criminal cases against him, according to public court records. The FBI believes he acted alone.
Bomb-making materials were found inside Crooks' vehicle near the Trump rally and at his home, according to two officials who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Crooks used an AR-style rifle, which authorities said they believe was purchased by his father. Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge in Pittsburgh, said that investigators do not yet know if he took the gun without his father's permission.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said on social media the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. Two spectators were critically injured, authorities said. The man killed was Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief from the area who Pennsylvania's governor says died a “hero” by diving onto his family to protect them.
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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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