Trump survives gunshot at rally: Shooter identified as bullied loner
During a campaign rally for Donald Trump, Thomas Crooks opened fire and wounded the former US President in the ear. Shortly after that, officers killed the shooter. Former schoolmates recall that "Crooks never showed any talent for handling firearms; he was lonely and bullied by peers."
7:02 PM EDT, July 15, 2024
The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attacked Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, according to former schoolmates, "had poor skills in handling firearms."
Jameson Myers, who attended elementary and high school with Crooks, said in an interview with ABC News that the 20-year-old wanted to join the shooting team in his freshman year at Bethel Park High School. He was rejected during preparations for the season.
"Not only did he not make the team. He was asked not to come back. He was such an incredibly poor shooter that his participation on the team was considered dangerous," recalls a former teammate.
The shooter's behavior drew attention. "The jokes were not appropriate"
Crooks stopped showing up for practices, and his specific behavior in the group also began to attract the attention of his peers.
"We noticed a few things that Thomas said and how he behaved toward other people. He sometimes made inappropriate jokes that were not appropriate, especially when firearms are involved in a school setting," says a former classmate of Crooks in an interview with the "New York Post."
The shooting team coach was also not convinced about Crooks. The teenagers recall that he was a strict man. He trained Navy shooters, so he was very good at sensing people. He knew when someone was not the perfect candidate.
A statement from the Bethel Park school district noted that Crooks' records do not appear on the shooting team's rosters. There is also no record of him trying to join the team. Meanwhile, Clairton Sportsmen Club confirmed that the teenager was a shooting club member.
Lonely, bullied, quiet. Schoolmates remember Thomas Crooks
Another classmate, Jason Kohler, told CBS Pittsburgh that "Crooks was a loner, constantly bullied by others." He often turned up at school in hunting clothes, as if he was about to go into the forest for hunting.
However, Mark Sigafoos, also from the same class as Crooks, added that he never saw the 20-year-old being bullied. He described him as a very intelligent, sociable, and engaged student.
A schoolmate, Sarah D'Angelo, told the "Wall Street Journal" that Crooks had "a few friends, but did not have a true circle of friends." During free periods, he often played video games on his laptop by himself.
