Three days after attempted assassination, Trump shooter remains an elusive enigma
BETHEL PARK, Pennsylvania — After three days, a puzzling portrait emerged of the 20-year-old man who nearly succeeded in killing former President Donald Trump with a high-velocity bullet: He was an intelligent loner with few friends, a seemingly small social media presence and no trace of strong political beliefs that might suggest a motive for an attempted murder.
Even after the FBI hacked into Thomas Matthew Crooks’ cellphone, searched his computer, home and car and questioned more than 100 people, the mystery of why he opened fire on Trump’s rally on Saturday, a bullet grazing the Republican presidential nominee’s ear, remains as elusive as the moment it happened.
“He was sitting by himself, not talking to anybody, not even trying to start a conversation,” said 17-year-old Liam Campbell, echoing comments from classmates who remembered the shooter in this quiet community outside Pittsburgh. “He was a weird kid,” but there was nothing about him that seemed dangerous, he added. “Just a normal person who didn’t seem to like talking to people.”
So far, there has been no public disclosure that the shooter left behind any writings, suicide notes, social media tirades or other clues that might explain his reasons for attacking Trump. A law enforcement official with knowledge of the ongoing investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Crooks’ phone had not immediately yielded meaningful clues about a motive or whether he acted alone or with others.
Crooks’ political leanings were also vague. Crooks was registered as a Republican in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show that he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day Democratic President Joe Biden was sworn in.
The lack of a satisfactory explanation has prompted Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to renew a lengthy federal investigation into the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, the deadliest attack in the nation’s history. That investigation was closed after 17 months without finding a motive for what prompted the 64-year-old gunman to fire more than 1,000 rounds into a crowd of concertgoers, other than to “gain some degree of notoriety.”
Crooks, with a slim build, wire-rimmed glasses and thin hair parted in the middle, was called “Tom.” Classmates at Bethel Park High School described him as smart but aloof, often seen with headphones on and preferring to sit alone at lunch and look at his phone. Some said he was frequently mocked by other students for the clothes he wore, including hunting gear, and for continuing to wear a mask after the COVID pandemic was over.
“He was bullied almost every day,” said classmate Jason Kohler. “He was just an outsider.”
After graduating from high school in 2022, Crooks attended the Community College of Allegheny County, where he earned an associate degree with honors in engineering in May. He also worked in a nursing home as a nutrition assistant.
A 1997 Secret Service survey of people who had attempted assassinations since 1949 found no evidence that anyone would want to take the life of a public figure. However, two-thirds of all attackers were described as “socially isolated.”
Like Crooks, few had a history of violent crime or a criminal record. Most of the attackers also had a history of gun handling, but no formal weapons or military training, the study found.
As a freshman, Crooks auditioned for his high school’s shooting team but was rejected because of his poor shooting skills, the AP reported Previously reportedThrough his family, he was a member of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, a shooting range about 11 miles east of Bethel Park.
“We know very little about him,” club president Bill Sellitto told the AP. “That was a terrible, terrible thing that happened Saturday — that’s absolutely not what we’re talking about.”
The club has an outdoor shooting range for high-powered rifles, with targets at distances of up to 170 metres (187 yards).
Crooks was well within that range when he opened fire on Trump on Saturday from about 135 meters (147 yards) away from where Trump was speaking, firing two rapid bursts of bullets at the former president from an AR-15-style rifle.
His father, Matthew Crooks, purchased the gun in 2013 in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, from Gander Mountain, an outdoor gear store chain.
The day before the shooting, Thomas Crooks went to the gym and practiced at the shooting range, according to a federal intelligence briefing obtained by the AP. On the day of the attack, he bought 50 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition for his rifle at a local gun store and drove alone to Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the Trump rally.
He parked in a gas station lot about a third of a mile from the event, wearing a gray T-shirt with the logo of a popular YouTube channel dedicated to firearms, camouflage shorts, and a black belt.
Witnesses and law enforcement officials say Crooks walked around for at least a half hour before climbing onto the roof of a building next to the Butler Farm Show grounds, where Trump was speaking. As onlookers shouted for police to respond, Crooks opened fire, firing two rapid-fire bursts. A Secret Service sniper returned fire about 15 seconds later, killing Crooks with a shot to the head.
Trump said this week that a bullet hit his right ear and that only a last-minute turn of his head prevented him from being fatally wounded. One of the bullets aimed at Trump killed 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore, a spectator in the stands. Two others were seriously wounded.
Without a clear understanding of Crooks’ motivations, many on both sides of the American political divide attempted to fill the void with their own partisan assumptions, evidence-free speculation and conspiracy theories in the days following the shooting.
Some Republicans have pointed to Democrats for calling Trump a threat to democracy. Democrats, in turn, have pointed to Crooks’ GOP registration and Trump’s own long history of provocative rhetoric, including his continued praise for the Jan. 6 rioters.
Entrance to the Crooks’ home remained blocked by yellow police tape, with officers standing guard and blocking reporters from entering.
Melanie Maxwell, who lives nearby, brought signs reading “Trump 2024” to another neighbor’s house.
Like the others, she did not know the Crooks well. She said she was shocked by the attack and that any security breaches should be thoroughly investigated.
“The hand of God protected President Trump,” she said.
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Biesecker reported from Washington, Bellisle from Seattle and Mustian from New York. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Colleen Long in Washington, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Julie Smyth, Lindsey Bahr, Mark Scolforo and Joshua Bickel in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, Michael R. Sisak in Butler, Pennsylvania, Randy Herschaft in New York, Michael Balsamo in Chicago and Michael Kunzelman in Silver Spring, Maryland, contributed to this report.