Thomas Matthew Crooks, alleged Donald Trump sniper gunman was previously rejected from high school rifle team for being dangerous, an awful shot and making inappropriate remarks surrounding firearms.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old would-be assassin who shot Donald Trump, was once rejected from his high school rifle club and considered a danger.
The registered Republican and 2022 high school graduate opened fire at the former president with an AR-15 style rifle from a roof 130 yards from the rally stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday at 6.15pm.
In the aftermath of the shooting which left Trump with a bullet grazing his right ear and inches away from being mortally shot dead, alarming details have emerged from those who knew Crooks while a student at Bethel Park High School.
Insider job or gross incompetence? Why did it take Secret Service so long to respond to sniper sighting?
Bombs found at Trump sniper car & home, but how did parents not know?
‘Something ominous about him’
Crooks tried out for the school’s rifle team but was turned away because he was a bad shooter, said Frederick Mach, a current captain of the team who was a few years behind Crooks at the school.
Jonathan Myers, a member of the team around the time Crooks auditioned, said there was something ominous about him back then.
‘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,’ Myers told ABC News.
Fellow classmate Jameson Murphy added: ‘He tried out…and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day.’
Murphy told the New York Post that Crooks had such bad marksmanship that he once fired a shot that missed his target by almost 20 feet.
Crooks once fired from the seventh lane — the closest lane to the right wall — and hit the left wall, completely missing every target on the back wall. He missed his target by close to 20 feet, Murphy recalled.
Others who were on the team said Crooks would make inappropriate jokes and overall, didn’t seem right.
NEW: Thomas Matthew Crooks was reportedly rejected from his school’s rifle team because of his bad shot and his “off-color” jokes according to the New York Post.
A former classmates claim he tried out for the rifle team at Bethel Park High School.
The school’s range was 50… pic.twitter.com/3uzbDQJPtB
— The Spot (@Spotnewsth) July 15, 2024
Loner who was relentlessly bullied
‘We noticed a few things Thomas said and how he interacted with other people… He said some things that were kind of concerning,’ a classmate said.
‘He made some crass jokes that weren’t appropriate when there are firearms in the school setting,‘ they added.
Also of disconcert were accounts by former classmates describing Thomas Crooks as a loner who was relentlessly bullied and who had few friends and who resorted to playing video games and who was fascinated by hunting.
Of note, the would be assassin suspect wore a T-shirt that promoted gun YouTube channel, Demolition Ranch as circulated images on social media show Crooks wearing the clothing celebrating gun culture. Crooks was revealed to be wearing the regalia at the time of his shooting death, images revealed.
The firearm recovered at the scene was legally purchased by the suspect’s father in 2013 according to multiple law enforcement sources. Crooks fired off as many as 8-10 gunshots while perched on a rooftop some 130 feet away from the podium where Trump was addressing supporters.
Along with grazing Trump, the shooting led to the death of an attendee protecting his family along with injuring two others.
Crooks was a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center – where he provided food and care for post-hospital elderly and sick people at the nursing home.
His employer confirmed on Sunday that he had a clean background check and ‘performed his job without concern’ before he attempted to kill Trump.
Bethel Park School District – where Crooks was a student until two years ago – verified his graduation and were cooperating with investigators.
Records show Thomas Crooks donated to a group who backed President Joe Biden on the day of the inauguration in 2020.
Members of the community where Crooks is believed to have lived with his parents were swarmed by police and Secret Service on Sunday morning.
Neighbors and locals stated said the family were quiet and kept to themselves.
His father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN he was trying to figure out ‘what the hell is going on’ but would ‘wait until I talk to law enforcement’ before speaking.
According to Pennsylvania’s public court records, Crooks had no criminal history and officials claimed they are still working towards identifying a motive behind the shooting.
