The 20-year-old was shot dead by US Secret Service snipers after the attack.
Twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, shot at former US President Donald Trump with an AR-15 rifle at a rally in Butler on July 13. The 20-year-old was shot dead by US Secret Service snipers after the attack.
Crooks was a maths and science whiz at school. Described as ‘quiet’ by his former schoolmates, he often kept to himself. Crooks was “bullied, he was just bullied so much,” Jason Kohler, who attended the same school as the shooter said.
An undated video is being shared on X, showing Thomas Matthew Crooks getting bullied by his classmates. Crooks, who is on his desk, is allegedly bullied by his classmate, who is forcefully pulling his pants.
NDTV could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Footage of Thomas Matthew Crook getting bullied in school has surfaced pic.twitter.com/riJoWXUpJt
— Crime Net (@TRIGGERHAPPYV1) July 15, 2024
The Trump shooter pulled back his leg, trying to stop his classmate from bullying him.
AFP reported, quoting Mr Kohler, that Crooks had been made fun of for the way he dressed, noting that he would sometimes wear hunting outfits. He was “lonely” and often seemed “socially reserved”.
“He was super smart. That’s what really kind of threw me off was, this was, like, a smart kid, like he excelled,” another classmate said. “Nothing crazy ever came up in any conversation.”
Thomas Crooks graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He received a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to the newspaper.
A 2022 graduation ceremony video cited by the New York Times shows Crooks receiving his high school diploma to some applause. Video from that ceremony posted online shows Crooks with glasses in a black graduation gown and posing with a school official.
‘He acted alone’
The FBI said on July 14 that Crooks’ social media profile does not contain threatening language, nor have they found any history of mental health issues. They said he acted alone and had not identified a motive.
Crooks was employed as a dietary aide at a nursing home at the time of the shooting, the home’s administrator said in a statement.
Thomas Matthew Crooks also practised firing at a shooting range on July 12, a day before the Trump rally. The next morning, Crooks went to the Home Depot to buy a five-foot ladder. He then bought 50 rounds of ammunition from a gun store, the report said.
Sources say he used the same ladder to climb the building from where he opened fire at the 78-year-old Republican nominee.
