The 20-year-old gunman who shot and injured former President Donald Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks, appeared in an advertisement for BlackRock Inc., the company disclosed Sunday.
"Crooks was one of several students who appeared in the background of the 2022 ad and was unpaid, BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager," said in a statement to Bloomberg. "The ad was filmed at Bethel Park High School, where Crooks graduated in 2022, and featured a teacher, the company said."
The firm didn't discuss the content of the ad but said footage would be made available to law enforcement and it "will be removed from circulation."
BlackRock also rebuked the attack on Trump that left one attendee dead and two others wounded.
“The assassination attempt on former President Trump is abhorrent," the company said in a statement. "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."
BlackRock reports earnings early next week. Notes Bloomberg, "The company has in the past come under scrutiny after shootings in the US because some of its index funds own shares in gunmakers."
Trump, the former president, was struck in the right ear by a bullet fragment, his face covered in blood as he was rushed from the stage.
In the aftermath, leaders from across the political spectrum condemned the senseless act of violence. President Joe Biden offered his condolences to the attendee who died, describing him as a "father" who "was protecting his family from the bullets being fired when he lost his life."
