The 20-year-old man who allegedly tried to assassinate former US President Donald Trump had tried to join his high school’s rifle team but was rejected for being a “terrible” shot.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot dead by law enforcement when he allegedly attempted to assassinate the 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
He slipped onto a rooftop location 140 meters from the stage where Trump was speaking and began firing an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, purchased by his father, officials said. The gunfire struck Trump’s right ear, killed a 50-year-old man, and critically injured two other spectators.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, about an hour away from where the shocking shooting occurred, was a member of a local shooting club named Clairton Sportsmen’s Club.
He had also tried out for the rifle team at high school but was rejected, The Post reported.
He once missed his target by close to 20 feet, former student Jameson Murphy told The Post.
“He tried out…and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day,” he said.
“Crooks couldn’t shoot at all. He was a terrible shot,” another classmate told The Post.
Even the coach had concerns about Crooks, the former students said.
“He made some crass jokes that weren’t appropriate when there are firearms in the school setting,” they said, without elaborating on what Crooks said.
The early details that have emerged about Thomas Matthew Crooks show that he was working an entry-level job near his hometown in Pennsylvania.
He graduated from high school in 2022 with a reputation as a bright but “quiet” classmate.
His counselor at Bethel Park High School described him as “respectful” and said he never knew him to be political.
Jim Knapp, who retired from his job as the school counselor at Bethel Park High School in 2022, said Crooks had always been “quiet as a churchmouse,” “respectful” and kept to himself, although he did have a few friends.
Knapp said he rarely came across Crooks because “he wasn’t a needy type kid”.
He was employed as a dietary aide at a nursing home at the time of the shooting.
(With agency inputs)
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