Thomas Matthew Crooks: Everything we know about the Trump gunman described as a 'bullied loner’
15 July 2024, 10:35 | Updated: 15 July 2024, 11:33
The gunman who shot former President Donald Trump at a Republican rally - killing one and injuring three - has been described as a "bullied loner".
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Thomas Matthew Crooks was killed by a secret service sniper at the scene after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.
According to local media reports, the 20-year-old kitchen worker lived in the well-to-do Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, about an hour’s drive south of where the rally took place.
He graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 and had a membership at a local shooting club, the Clairton Sportsmen's Club, for at least a year.
State voter records reveal that he was a registered Republican - and that his parents, both social workers, are registered as a Democrat and a Libertarian.
A number of interviews done by US media paint him as a quiet, good student who was a "misfit" in high school.
'Quiet kid'
Jason Kohler, 21, who went to the same high school, told CNN Crooks was bullied by other students and was a "loner"
Crooks had “no facial expression” when he walked through the hallways.
“He wasn’t, like, with the clique, so he always had, I guess, a target on his back.”
Another former student Sarah D’Angelo, described Crooks as “a quiet kid, not obviously political or violent in any way.”
She said the only time he spoke with her was when their class was waiting for their graduation ceremony to start.
A unnamed classmate said when she heard Crooks was identified as the shooter, said she was "shocked".
"I just couldn’t believe he did something that bold, considering he was such a quiet and kept-to-himself kind of person.
News outlet KDKA said some locals described him as a "bullied loner" who sometimes wore "hunting outfits to school".
'Comically bad shot'
He had also tried out for the rifle team at high school but was rejected.
He once reprtedly missed his target by close to 20 feet, former student Jameson Murphy told The Post.
"He tried out...and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day," he said.
"Crooks couldn't shoot at all. He was a terrible shot," another classmate said.
According to somereports, Crooks was wearing a T-shirt from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel that shares guns and demolition content.
The channel - which has 11.6million subscribers - featuring videos on different guns and explosive devices.
The day after the shooting, law enforcement sources told CBS that suspicious devices were found in Crooks' vehicle.
This equipment appeared capable of initiating the devices and bomb technicians were called to the scene in Bethel Park to secure and investigate the devices
The gun used in the shooting was a legally purchased AR-style weapon. According to law enforcement officials, the gun was traced to Crooks’ father, which helped to determine the gunman’s identity as he was not carrying identification.
However, according to CNN, Federal Election Commission records show that a donor listed as Thomas Crooks with the gunman’s street address gave $15 to Progressive Turnout Project, a Democratic-aligned political action committee, on Inauguration Day in January 2021, when Crooks was 17.
A spokesperson for Progressive Turnout Project said the group had received the donation “in response to an email about tuning into the inauguration” and that “the email address associated with the contribution only made the one contribution and was unsubscribed from our lists 2 years ago.”
“We unequivocally condemn political violence in all of its forms, and we denounce anyone who chooses violence over peaceful political action,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
Donald Trump rushed off stage after ‘gunshots’ at Pennsylvania rally
Video footage from the scene shows Mr Trump dropping to the ground clutching his right ear after multiple bangs were heard ringing out.
He later confirmed that a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear.
In a statement, the organisation said: "The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on 13 July, in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"This remains an active and ongoing investigation."
Read more: Pictured: Two men, 62 and 71, whose remains were found in suitcases in Bristol
The King has written privately to Trump after the gunman's failed attempt on his life.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he was "appalled" by the attack on the former US president while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he was "very upset" but "not shocked".
Last night, President Biden said Americans needed to come together and avoid politics becoming a "killing field".
In an address at the Oval Office the President said the country can't afford to see political violence becoming normalised.
The FBI says its looking into the shooting at the weekend as a potential act of "domestic terrorism".
One person at the rally was killed - former fire chief Corey Comperatore - and two other spectators were critically injured, authorities said.
Mr Trump said on his Truth Social media platform that a bullet had "pierced" his ear before he was dragged to the ground by Secret Service agents.
The Presidential candidate has arrived in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention - where he'll be officially selected as the party's nominee.
He told the Washington Examiner he has tempered his language ahead of the event.
The shooting was the most serious attempt to assassinate a US president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
Former UK Ambassador to the US Lord Darroch told LBC the attack will only embolden support for Donald Trump.
Caller Cleo: 'He's going to work this.'
