The 20-year-old gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump at a campaign rally was previously rejected from his high school shooting club because he was “a bad shooter”, it has been revealed.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot dead on Saturday evening by Secret Service agents after he opened fire on the former president from a vantage point of the rooftop of a building just outside the security perimeter of the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The gunman, from nearby Bethel Park, fired several shots toward Trump – with one narrowly missing his head and striking him in the ear.
Trump ducked down behind the podium and his security detail rushed on stage to protect him, but three rally attendees were struck by the spray of bullets.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief who was attending the rally with his family, was killed as he threw his body over his loved ones to protect them from the gunfire. Two other rallygoers – David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74 – were injured and rushed to hospital in critical condition. By Sunday afternoon, their conditions had been updated to stable.
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As authorities work to determine what motivated the 20-year-old to stage the assassination attempt on the former president, former classmates, friends and family members are coming forward with details about his background.
Crooks’ former classmates at Bethel Park High have revealed that he was interested in firearms during his school days – and had attended trials for the school’s rifle team.
Jameson Myers told ABC News that Crooks fell short of making the team and was asked not to return to the club after the preseason due to his “dangerous” shot.
“He didn’t just not make the team, he was asked not to come back because how bad of a shot he was, it was considered like, dangerous,” said Myers, who went to both elementary and high school with Crooks.
A member of the rifle team, who wished to remain anonymous, also told the network that Crooks’ “shot terribly” and “wasn’t really fit for the rifle team”.
Crooks graduated from high school in 2022 but his interest in guns clearly didn’t end there.
Crooks was a member of local sports club – Clairton Sportsmen’s Club in Pennsylvania – which has a 200-yard rifle range, CNN reported.
The club’s attorney confirmed in a statement that the shooter was a member but said they could not “additional commentary in relation to this matter in light of pending law enforcement investigations”.
It is unclear if Crooks specifically used the rifle range at the club.
Investigators believe that the AR-style rifle used in the attack had been purchased by Crooks’ father around six months before the shooting.
The FBI is now probing how Crooks – who at the age of 20 could legally own a rifle under state law – got his hands on the gun and whether he took it without his father’s permission.
Despite his interest in guns, people who knew Crooks have revealed their surprise that he was behind the assassination attempt, describing him as a loner who didn’t appear to engage in political discourse.
Former classmate Sarah D’Angelo told The Wall Street Journal that Crooks had “a few friends,” but not “a whole friend group,” and “never outwardly spoke about his political views or how much he hated Trump or anything”.
Another classmate said that his views had been “slightly right leaning,” while another told the New York Post they would have “pegged him as a Republican”.
Online records reveal that Crooks had been registered to vote as a Republican. That said, federal campaign finance reports show that he had also made a $15 contribution to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called Progressive Turnout Project on January 20, 2021.
The motive for the attack remains unclear, with authorities saying on Sunday that they are combing through Crooks’ background including trying to access his cellphone to try to find out more.
The 20-year-old had not been on the radar of law enforcement before the shooting and no evidence had yet been found of a mental health issue, the FBI said.
Yet, besides the AR-style weapon recovered from the scene, explosive devices were discovered in both the gunman’s car, which was parked close to the rally, and his home.
For Crooks’ family members, the motive for the horrific attack also remains a mystery with his uncle, Mark Crooks, telling The Independent on Sunday morning that he had “no idea” why it happened.
“I don’t know what to say,” he said.