Last Saturday, an alarming incident unfolded as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks fired an AR-style rifle, narrowly missing former President Donald Trump. The bullet grazed Trump, marking a chilling moment in political violence. This attack led to Trump’s appearance at the Republican National Convention on Monday, where he was seen with a bandaged ear. Amidst an electrified atmosphere, with chants of “fight” resonating through the crowd—a sentiment fiercely echoed by Trump himself—Crooks’ assassination attempt was dramatically thwarted.
Before the heinous act catapulted him into the notorious ranks of attempted presidential assassins, Crooks maintained a low profile. Described by Jim Knapp, his former guidance counselor at Bethel Park High School, located in a suburb south of Pittsburgh, Crooks was remembered as a loner. “He just wanted to stay by himself,” Knapp revealed to The New York Times, depicting a young man who often sat isolated at lunch, absorbed in his phone rather than mingling with his peers.
Former classmates corroborated this image of Crooks as a bright but introverted individual who rarely engaged in classroom discussions and mostly kept his head down while navigating school corridors. Despite his reclusive nature, Crooks never showed signs of aggression or made any threats, leaving many shocked by his recent actions. “He didn’t want attention, good or negative,” remarked Julianna Grooms, 19, who went to school with Crooks. She noted how Crooks stood out with his wide-legged jeans and SpongeBob T-shirts, and was often the target of ridicule over his hygiene and reserved nature. “Those other kids would always say, ‘Hey, look at the school shooter over there!’ They would tease him about his poor hygiene, his body odor. He was an easy target,” she added.
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The Bethel Park School District confirmed Crooks’ graduation in 2022 but declined to comment further on his academic history. A poignant moment from his school days, captured in a video shared with TMZ, shows Crooks visibly distressed as a classmate provokes him, with Crooks repeatedly stating, “Stop, you’re pulling my leg,” amidst the audible laughter of his tormentors.
Anna Dusch, 20, shared an Advanced Placement American Government class with Crooks during their senior year—a year marked by a return to normalcy following the pandemic’s disruptions. “I would’ve never known who he was voting for,” Dusch told The Times, highlighting Crooks’ intelligence but his private nature regarding his political views. “He seemed really intelligent. If there was a fact to be said, he knew it.”
While Crooks was somewhat of an enigmatic figure, Dusch never perceived him as a threat. “He was a little bit odd, but I never would’ve suspected this,” she admitted, reflecting a sentiment shared by many who knew him. The profound impact of the attack reverberated through their community, particularly among the youth. “Their class was so traumatized from it. All of these kids were really isolated,” said Jill Bortz, whose son attended the same school.
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