By Profile of the Sniper: Thomas Matthew Crooks
The small Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is reeling after the FBI named a young local man, Thomas Matthew Crooks, as the person who shot at Donald Trump during a campaign rally, shocking the nation.
Investigators believe that Crooks, armed with an AR-style rifle, opened fire at the former president while he was addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, leaving one audience member dead and two others critically wounded. The 20-year-old kitchen worker was shot dead at the scene by a Secret Service sniper, officials said.
In his quiet and well-to-do hometown, neighbors are in shock, seemingly unable to grasp how a quiet young man is now accused in the shooting. The FBI, for its part, has said only that Crooks was the “subject involved in the assassination attempt on the former president” and that an active investigation was underway.
Background and Troubling History
Thomas Matthew Crooks was rejected from his high school rifle team for being a “terrible shot” and was considered “dangerous” by those who knew him. The registered Republican and 2022 high school graduate opened fire at the former president with an AR-style rifle from a roof 130 yards from the rally stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday at 6:15 p.m.
Disturbing anecdotes have emerged from those who knew Crooks dating back to his days at Bethel Park High School. Crooks tried out for the school’s rifle team but was turned away because he was a bad shooter, said Frederick Mach, a current captain of the team who was a few years behind Crooks at the school. Jonathan Myers, a member of the team around the time Crooks auditioned, said there was something ominous about him back then.
“He didn’t just not make the team, he was asked not to come back because of how bad of a shot he was; it was considered dangerous,” Myers told ABC News. Fellow classmate Jameson Murphy added, “He tried out…and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day.” Murphy recalled that Crooks once fired a shot that missed his target by almost 20 feet.
Others who were on the team said Crooks would make inappropriate jokes and overall didn’t seem right. “We noticed a few things Thomas said and how he interacted with other people… He said some things that were kind of concerning,” a classmate said. “He made some crass jokes that weren’t appropriate when there are firearms in the school setting,” they added.
Life and Employment
Images of Crooks wearing glasses, braces, and an American flag t-shirt in yearbook headshots emerged on Sunday morning, hours after he tried to take out the presumptive Republican nominee and killed a member of the rally crowd. Crooks was a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where he provided food and care for post-hospital elderly and sick people. His employer confirmed on Sunday that he had a clean background check and “performed his job without concern” before he attempted to kill Trump.
Community Reaction
In unprecedented scenes of terror, Trump was seen grabbing his ear and dropping to the ground as Crooks’ gunshots rang out and sent the crowd into a frenzy. Moments later, he got up, raised his fist, and shouted “fight, fight, fight” as the Secret Service escorted him to a motorcade and then to the hospital.
Crooks’ uncle, Mark Crooks, told DailyMail.com he hadn’t seen the gunman or his parents in years and described them as “very private.” “I haven’t seen that part of my family in years,” he said. “Honestly, it’s been so long I don’t think much about them. It’s a shame. The kid is like a stranger to me. They’re private and they don’t reach out to anybody anytime.”
Bethel Park School District, where Crooks was a student until two years ago, verified his graduation and vowed full cooperation with investigators. Records show he donated to a group that backed President Joe Biden on the day of the inauguration in 2020.
A resident near where Crooks lived, who wanted to remain anonymous, confirmed the identity of the gunman to DailyMail.com. Members of the community where Crooks is believed to have lived with his parents were swarmed by police and Secret Service on Sunday morning. Those who spoke to DailyMail.com said the family was quiet and kept to themselves
