Donald Trump and his would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks, were set on a violent collision course long before the former president’s political rally ended in gunshots and death.
Crooks, 20, was a registered Republican, a nursing home worker with no criminal record, and shy in school, living with his parents in a middle-class neighborhood in suburban Pennsylvania. Trump, 78, was eyeing Crooks’ state as a key battleground – but not in the way anyone envisioned on Saturday.
Riding high in polls that suggested a strong chance of toppling President Joe Biden, Trump had been campaigning for reelection in swing states, with Pennsylvania being a key prize. Trump won the state in 2016 but lost it four years later.
On July 3, Trump’s campaign announced a rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.
“Pennsylvania has been ravaged by monumental surges in violent crime as a direct result of Biden’s and Democrats’ pro-criminal policies,” the campaign stated, promising to “re-establish law and order in Pennsylvania” if elected.
The Saturday attack on Trump turned the heated rhetoric of the 2024 presidential campaign violently. Authorities said bullets fired from Crooks’ AR-15 style rifle, about 150 yards away, grazed Trump’s ear, killed a rally attendee who dove to protect his family, and critically wounded two others. Secret Service agents killed Crooks moments later.
Attack Planned Well in Advance
Investigators are still seeking Crooks’ motive – despite his Republican leanings, he had donated recently to a progressive voter-turnout campaign in 2021 – but indicated he had planned the attack well in advance. This marks the first assassination attempt against a former or current U.S. president since President Ronald Reagan was injured in a March 1981 shooting at a Washington, D.C. hotel.
Many questions remain about why Crooks turned into a would-be presidential assassin, firing indiscriminately into hordes of political supporters.
FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek said law enforcement located “a suspicious device” in Crooks’ vehicle, which is being analyzed at the FBI crime lab.
“As far as the actions of the shooter immediately prior to the event and any interaction that he may have had with law enforcement, we’re still trying to flesh out those details now,” Rojek said.
None of Crooks’ shocked neighbors or high school classmates described him as violent or intent on harming Trump. Reporters and curious locals swarmed the leafy streets of the home where Crooks lived with his parents in Bethel Park, about 50 miles from the shooting scene.
A 2020 high school yearbook shows a photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks, named by the FBI as the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Those who knew him described a quiet young man who often walked to work at a nearby nursing home. One classmate said he was bullied and often ate alone in high school.
Dietary Aide Turned Deadly Killer
Authorities are examining Crooks’ phone, social media, and online activity for motivation. They said he carried no identification, and his body had to be identified via DNA and biometric confirmation.
Although no possible motive has yet been released, Crooks embodies the familiar profile of an American mass shooter: a young white man, isolated from peers and armed with a high-powered rifle. His attack was one of at least 59 shootings in the United States on Saturday, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School, about 42 miles from Butler, on June 3, 2022. That same day, Trump met briefly with investigators at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida regarding whether he improperly took classified documents with him when he left the White House.
A classmate remembered Crooks as a frequent target of bullies, picked on for wearing camouflage to class and his quiet demeanor.
Crooks worked as a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, less than a mile from his home. In a statement, the facility’s administrator said she was “shocked and saddened” by his involvement.
Neighbor Dean Sierka, who knew Crooks and his parents for years, said Crooks often walked to the nursing home from his parents’ house. “You wouldn’t have expected this,” Sierka said. “The parents and the family are all really nice people.”