Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks described as loner who was ‘relentlessly’ bullied in high school
Trigger Warning: This article contains some graphic information and content that may trigger some readers. Discretion is advised.
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA: Thomas Matthew Crooks, who tried to kill Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally was described by his classmates as a tormented loner who enjoyed video games and wore "hunting outfits," the New York Post reports
After opening fire at the Butler Farm Show grounds, injuring Trump, and killing another visitor, Crooks was shot and killed by the Secret Service agents.
Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was bullied in high school
Former classmate Jason Kohler told KDKA that Crooks, who graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, was a loner who was "bullied 'relentlessly."
#NEW: We are hearing from the first classmate of Thomas Crooks. His Bethel Park classmate described him as a loner who was bullied relentlessly and wore “hunting” outfits often in class. @KDKA pic.twitter.com/mmIYwomjGJ
— MEGHAN SCHILLER (@MeghanKDKA) July 14, 2024
Kohler said that he was notorious for wearing "hunting" attire to class. The friend also sent the publication two photos of Crooks from his high school days, one of which featured him seated at a desk wearing a Bethel Park sweatshirt.
In the second picture, Crooks gave the thumbs up while a student on a school bus shot a selfie with her face obscured. The pictures were removed from X.
Thomas Matthew Crooks donated to liberal ActBlue political action committee
On the day of President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021, Crooks contributed $15 to the leftist ActBlue political action organization, according to a report by the Intercept. However, according to state documents available online, he enrolled as a Republican Party member when he turned 18 the following September.
Crooks's former classmate said in the aftermath of the shooting, "He didn’t seem like really weird or anything. I would have pegged him as a Republican."
Another Bethel Park High graduate, Sarah D’Angelo, told The Wall Street Journal, "He never outwardly spoke about his political views or how much he hated Trump or anything."
D'Angelo said that Crooks "didn't have a full friend group," but he did have a "few friends." She also recalled that he used his laptop to play video games during homeroom at school. Although Crooks was not included in the Bethel Park High School yearbook for 2022, a video captured him crossing the stage to get his diploma that spring was shown.
Thomas Matthew Crooks killed one spectator at Pennsylvania rally
When Crooks began fire with an AK-style weapon, he was wearing an all-gray outfit. He had climbed the roof of a manufacturing company around 130 yards away from the Butler rally site.
50-year-old former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore was killed and Trump escaped with a grazed ear. Before Crooks was shot by the Secret Service, two other rally attendees suffered serious injuries. The Wall Street Journal claims that Crooks' father bought the gun he used in the attempted assassination.
