A 2020 yearbook photo of Thomas Crooks, whom law enforcement have identified as the Trump shooter, in Bethel Park, Pa., on July 14.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail
The 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump was the son of two behavioural health counsellors, and described as a quiet, accomplished student who was drawn to video games and websites that celebrate U.S. gun culture.
Thomas Matthew Crooks resided in Bethel Park, Pa., a predominantly white, relatively affluent, leafy suburb of Pittsburgh that is about an hour’s drive from where the shooting took place Saturday. He was killed by Secret Service officers after he opened fire at a Trump rally.
The FBI said they were investigating the shooting as a potential act of domestic terrorism, but Mr. Crooks’s political motivations weren’t immediately clear.
What we know so far about the Trump assassination attempt
Although some former high-school classmates described Mr. Crooks to U.S. media outlets as an outsider with few friends, a number of his former peers told The Globe and Mail in interviews that they disputed those characterizations.
Summer Barkley, a former classmate, said Mr. Crooks was not “a textbook type of person that you would expect to do something like this.” Nothing about his behaviour in school raised any “red flags,” Ms. Barkley said, recalling him as a someone who was well-liked by teachers, got along with people in class, and was particularly knowledgeable about history.
“There are other students who did not know Thomas at all that are claiming to have known him,” she told The Globe. “He was very quiet, but a kind person. That’s why when all this information came out, I was so shocked to hear it. It didn’t seem like something that could happen with him.”
A Pennsylvania State Trooper vehicle blocks the road to a cordoned off area leading to the home of Thomas Matthew Crooks, whom law enforcement have identified as the Trump shooter, in Bethel Park, PA, USA, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail)Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail
Sean McGowan, another classmate, described Mr. Crooks as a normal kid, adding he was surprised to hear about what had happened. He said that he knew Mr. Crooks well in middle school and that while they lost touch in high school, they still talked occasionally in class about their studies.
“Maybe there was something going on underneath, but on the surface, I never noticed him getting bullied or wearing hunting gear to school.”
Since graduating, Mr. Crooks has attended the Community College of Allegheny County, said Ryan Nebiolo, another high-school and middle-school classmate. Mr. Nebiolo said that, although Mr. Crooks was “a little socially awkward,” he was nice. Mr. Nebiolo described media reports about him frequently wearing camouflage as “totally untrue.”
Video taken of Mr. Crooks after he was shot dead appears to show him wearing a T-shirt promoting Demolition Ranch, a popular YouTube channel with more than 11.6 million subscribers. The site regularly posts videos that show creator Matt Carriker firing off handguns and assault rifles at targets that include human mannequins and vehicles.
The range from which Mr. Crooks fired, nearly 150 metres, and his grey, camouflage clothing led to early speculation that the shooter had military experience. However, all the branches of the military searched their records Sunday and said they had no records of Mr. Crooks serving.
Another Bethel Park High graduate, Sarah D’Angelo, told The Wall Street Journal Mr. Crooks “didn’t have a full friend group,” and was often playing video games on his laptop during homeroom period at school.
Mr. Crooks, a slim young man, did not appear in the 2022 Bethel Park High School yearbook, but a video showed him walking across the stage to accept his diploma that spring. He also received a $500 National Math and Science Initiative Star Award during his graduating year.
Law enforcement officials believe the weapon used to shoot at Mr. Trump, an AR-15-style assault rifle, was purchased by Mr. Crooks’s father, the Associated Press news agency reported. Two officers told the agency that the gunman’s father, Matthew Crooks, bought a weapon at least six months ago.
Mr. Crooks told CNN he wanted to speak to authorities and figure out “what the hell is going on” before discussing his son. Public records show he is a licensed behavioural counsellor, as is his wife.
Law enforcement sources also told reporters that suspicious devices were found in Mr. Crooks’s vehicle in the aftermath of the shooting. He had a piece of commercially available equipment that appeared capable of initiating the devices, according to CBS. Bomb technicians were called to the scene to secure and investigate the devices.
Law enforcement are seen at a a cordoned off area leading to the home of Thomas Crooks, whom law enforcement have identified as the Trump shooter, in Bethel Park, PA. on July 14.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail
The gunman’s political leanings seemed contradictory. While a junior in high school, he donated $15 to a political action committee aligned with the Democratic Party. Eight months later in his senior year, however, Mr. Crooks registered to vote as a Republican.
The gunman had an account on Discord, an online chat app designed for gamers that has become popular with white supremacists and other extremists because of the privacy offered by the service.
“We have identified an account that appears to be linked to the suspect; it was rarely utilized and we have found no evidence that it was used to plan this incident or discuss his political views,” Discord said in a statement.
After graduation, Mr. Crooks began working in the kitchen of a nursing home near his parents’ house in Bethel Park. An employee at the facility referred all questions to the company’s head office.
The young gunman’s former school district offered condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the shooting, and said it was working closely with law enforcement investigators.
“The school district wishes to express its sincere wishes for a speedy and complete recovery for Mr. Trump and those in attendance at the Saturday event who may have been physically harmed or emotionally impacted by these tragic events,” reads a statement from Bethel Park High School spokesperson James Cromie.