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SUSPECT CAME WITHIN INCHES OF KILLING TRUMP, BUT LEFT FEW CLUES AS TO WHY

By Gabriella Borter , Nathan Layne and Tyler Clifford
July 15, 20246:02 AM GMT+2Updated 8 days ago
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BETHEL PARK, Pennsylvania, July 14 (Reuters) - The portrait pieced together so
far of the 20-year-old nursing home aide who allegedly tried to assassinate
Donald Trump at an election rally reveals frustratingly little about why he
would make such an attempt - or how he managed to come so close to killing the
former president.
The early details that have emerged about Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot
dead by law enforcement, show a young man working an entry-level job near his
hometown in Pennsylvania, where he graduated from high school in 2022 with a
reputation as a bright but quiet classmate. His high school counselor described
him as "respectful" and said he never knew Crooks to be political.
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The FBI said on Sunday that Crooks' social media profile does not contain
threatening language, nor have they found any history of mental health issues.
They said he acted alone and have not identified a motive.
What is unique about Crooks - when compared to other recent shooters who opened
fire at schools, churches, malls and parades - is that he came within inches of
killing a presidential candidate.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue

On Saturday afternoon, Crooks slipped onto a rooftop location 150 yards (140
meters) from the stage where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania. He then
began firing an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, purchased by his father,
officials said.
The gunfire killed a 50-year-old man, critically wounded two other spectators,
and struck Trump's ear - an assassination attempt that has further inflamed an
already bitter U.S. political divide. The FBI said it was probing the shooting
as "an assassination attempt and potential domestic terrorism."

A resident of Bethel Park, about an hour away from where the shooting occurred,
Crooks was a registered Republican who would have been eligible to cast his
first presidential vote in the Nov. 5 election in which Trump is challenging
President Joe Biden. Public records show his father is a registered Republican
and his mother a registered Democrat, and that as a 17-year-old Crooks made a
$15 donation to a Democratic Party cause.

The suspect was a member of a local shooting club named Clairton Sportsmen's
Club, the club confirmed to the media on Sunday while condemning the shooting
and calling it a "senseless act of violence."
Crooks was employed as a dietary aide at a nursing home at the time of the
shooting, the home's administrator said in a statement.
"We are shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement as Thomas Matthew
Crooks performed his job without concern and his background check was clean,"
said Marcie Grimm, administrator of the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and
Rehabilitation Center.


NEVER KNOWN TO BE POLITICAL

Two years ago, Crooks graduated from the local high school, where he showed no
particular interest in politics, according to one classmate who asked not to be
identified. Crooks' interests centered on building computers and playing games,
the classmate said in an interview.
"He was super smart. That's what really kind of threw me off was, this was,
like, a really, really smart kid, like he excelled," the classmate said.
"Nothing crazy ever came up in any conversation."
Item 1 of 2 An aerial view shows the stage where Donald Trump had been standing
during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby
building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler,
Pennsylvania.   REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
[1/2]An aerial view shows the stage where Donald Trump had been standing during
an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where
a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania.  
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

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.
He rarely came across Crooks because "he wasn't a needy type kid," Knapp said.
Crooks was content to occasionally eat lunch by himself in the school cafeteria,
said Knapp, who would engage such students to see if they wanted company.
"Kids weren't calling him names, kids weren't bullying him," Knapp said.
Knapp said he never knew Crooks to be political in any way, even as other kids
would sometimes wear Trump or Biden attire. He added that he couldn't recall
Crooks ever being disciplined in school.
"Anybody could snap, anybody could have issues," he said. "Something triggered
that young man and drove him to drive up to Butler yesterday and do what he
did."
Residents near the Crooks' home described feeling shocked and unsettled that an
assassination attempt has been linked to a person from the sedate city of 33,000
people.
"Bethel Park is a pretty blue-collar type of area, and to think that somebody
was that close is a little insane," said Wes Morgan, a 42-year-old who works at
an investment management company and bikes with his children on the same street
as the Crooks' residence.
A couple standing on the porch of their nearby brick ranch-style home was left
processing the events and spotlight on their neighborhood.
"There's never been a gun issue. There's never been the police being called,"
Mary Priselac, 67, said alongside her husband. "You kind of have to wonder what
didn't he get in life? What led to this extreme?"
Crooks' gun — an AR-style-5.56 caliber rifle — had been legally bought, the FBI
officials said, adding that the FBI believed it had been purchased by the
suspect's father. The officials said "a suspicious device" was found in the
suspect's vehicle, which was inspected by bomb technicians and rendered safe.
Bruce Piendl, owner of Allegheny Arms and Gunworks in Bethel Park, said guns
were part of the culture in the area. "You have to understand in western
Pennsylvania we have a rich tradition of hunting and fishing and outdoor stuff,"
he said. "Within 10 miles (16 km) of here, there are a ton of gun clubs."
Piendl said his record show he did not sell any firearms to the shooter but
declined to say whether he sold any to his family.
"That's between me and God," Piendl said.

Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the
world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here.

Reporting by Nathan Layne and Gabriella Borter in Bethel Park, Jasper Ward and
Kanishka Singh in Washington; Additional reporting by Aaron Josefczyk in Bethel
Park, Brendan O'Brien in Chicago, Tyler Clifford in New York, and Daniel Trotta
in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Lisa Shumaker and Lincoln
Feast.

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Purchase Licensing Rights
Gabriella Borter

Thomson Reuters

Gabriella Borter is a reporter on the U.S. National Affairs team, covering
cultural and political issues as well as breaking news. She has won two Front
Page Awards from the Newswomen’s Club of New York - in 2020 for her beat
reporting on healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2019 for
her spot story on the firing of the police officer who killed Eric Garner. The
latter was also a Deadline Club Awards finalist. She holds a B.A. in English
from Yale University and joined Reuters in 2017.

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