Trump Shooting Suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks Was Lonely And Bullied, Rejected From School Rifle Team: Reports

Thomas Matthew Crooks was quiet, bullied and lonely in school, but an investigation so far into the young man who was identified as the shooter in the assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump has revealed frustratingly little about his motive.

Former high school classmates described the 20-year-old as a terrible shot, ironically. Crooks, who fired multiple shots at Trump during the Butler rally in Pennsylvania, was reportedly rejected from his school’s rifle team. He was all set to cast his vote for the first time in the November 5 presidential elections. But, it was not to be.

On July 13, the US Secret Service shot and killed him as he made an attempt on Trump’s life. While the Republican presidential candidate survived, the shooting led to the death of a spectator and critically injured two others.

Even though his family members, classmates, teachers and work colleagues did not firmly talk about his leanings, it looks like there were some potential signs in him of an interest in politics. It seems the registered Republican had donated, as a 17-year-old, a small amount to the Democratic Party and put his name down as a voter only a week after he turned 18.

Since Crooks was identified as the shooter by the FBI, there has been much debate over his political affiliations and motive, further inflaming an already bitter political divide in the US. But, the information about him so far – gathered from home, neighbourhood, school and workplace – pieces a picture of a man whose ideology was not instantly clear.

A social media platform, Discord, said an account Crooks had with them was “rarely utilised” and there is no evidence that it was used to plan this incident, promote violence, or discuss his political views. His father told CNN that he was trying to establish “what the hell is going on” before speaking about his son.

On Sunday (July 14), the FBI said his social media profile does not contain threatening language, nor have they found any history of mental health issues. But, the law enforcement agency pointed out what is unique about him – when compared to other recent shooters who opened fire at schools, churches, malls and parades, is that he came within inches of killing a presidential candidate.

‘Super smart’

Early details, however, show a young Crooks working as a nursing home aide near his hometown in Pennsylvania, where he graduated from high school in 2022 with a reputation as a bright but quiet classmate. His high school counsellor described him as “respectful” and said he never knew him to be political.

Public records of the resident of Bethel Park – at least an hour away from where the shooting took place – show his father is a registered Republican and his mother a registered Democrat. The predominantly white suburb, which is wealthier than the surrounding Pittsburgh metro area, is situated in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania and is politically mixed as per county election records. President Joe Biden won the precinct that includes the Crooks’ house with just 52 per cent of the vote.

“We are shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement as Thomas Matthew Crooks performed his job without concern and his background check was clean,” said Marcie Grimm, administrator of the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where Crooks worked. One of his work colleagues said in fact, he was rather “caring” and did not appear as “radical” or “politically motivated”.

Crooks graduated from school two years ago, where he showed no particular interest in politics as per one classmate who asked not to be identified. His interests centred on building computers and playing games, the classmate said in an interview to news agency Reuters.

“He was super smart. That’s what really kind of threw me off was, this was, like, a really, really smart kid, like he excelled,” the classmate was quoted as saying. “Nothing crazy ever came up in any conversation.”

Jim Knapp, who retired from his job as the school counsellor at Bethel Park High School in 2022, told Reuters that Crooks had always been “quiet as a churchmouse”, “respectful” and kept to himself, although he did have some friends.

Knapp said he never knew Crooks to be political in any way, even as other kids would sometimes wear Trump or Biden attire. He added that he could not recall him ever being disciplined in school.

“Anybody could snap, anybody could have issues,” he said. “Something triggered that young man and drove him to drive up to Butler yesterday and do what he did.”

Residents near Crooks’ home described feeling shocked and unsettled that an assassination bid has been linked to a person from the sedate city of 33,000 people. “Bethel Park is a pretty blue-collar type of area, and to think that somebody was that close is a little insane,” said Wes Morgan, a 42-year-old who works at an investment management company and bikes with his children on the same street as the Crooks’ residence.

‘Comically bad shot, wore hunting outfits’

According to a report published by The New York Post, Crooks was a “comically bad shot”. His former classmates claimed that he tried out for the rifle team at Bethel Park High School, but was rejected.

They said the school’s range was 50 feet long and 21 feet wide. The Post said he once shot from the seventh lane, which was closest to the right wall and missed so he hit the left wall. “He tried out… and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day,” a classmate was quoted as saying. “Our old coach was a stickler, he trained Navy marksmen, so he knew people. He knew when someone’s not the greatest person.”

Like during his school life, where he often came across to be lonely, in his defining moment before his death, Crooks was working alone as per the FBI.

Classmates described him as a quiet student. “He was quiet but he was just bullied. He was bullied so much,” said Jason Kohler, who attended the same high school as Crooks, adding that he seemed “socially reserved”. But, another classmate did not recall hearing him discuss politics or Trump.

Kohler further said Crooks had been made fun of for the way he dressed, noting that he would sometimes wear hunting outfits.

He told CNN that Crooks had “no facial expression” when he walked through the school hallways. “He wasn’t, like, with the clique, so he always had, I guess, a target on his back,” he said.