Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, had reportedly tried out for his high school’s rifle team. However, he was rejected for being a “terrible” shot and making “crass jokes.”
Crooks opened fire at the rally, wounding Trump and killing former volunteer fire chief, Corey Comperatore. He also injured two other people before being killed by Secret Service snipers.
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. Two of his former classmates told New York Post that a few years ago, he tried out for the school’s rifle team. Jameson Murphy and another former student explained that the team at their school shoots Anschutz single-shot rifles with peep sights and .22-caliber ammunition. At the school, the shooting range is 50 feet long by 21 feet wide, with seven ranges.
The former students recalled an incident when Crooks fired from the seventh lane, which was the closest lane to the right wall, but hit the left wall. He missed every target on the back wall completely. Murphy said that Crooks missed his target by close to 20 feet.
“He tried out…and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day,” Murphy said.
‘He made some crass jokes that weren’t appropriate’
{{/usCountry}}“He tried out…and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day,” Murphy said.
‘He made some crass jokes that weren’t appropriate’
{{/usCountry}}Crooks’ former classmates remembered him as a loner who was “relentlessly” bullied at school. The second classmate, besides Murphy, said that Crooks “couldn’t shoot at all” and was “a terrible shot.”
The second classmate recalled that even the coach was concerned about Crooks. “Our old coach was a stickler, he trained Navy marksmen, so he knew people. He knew when someone’s not the greatest person,” the ex-classmate said.
“We noticed a few things Thomas said and how he interacted with other people… He said some things that were kind of concerning,” the classmate said. “You know, obviously, we’re using guns in a school setting so you need to be very careful in that regard.”
“He made some crass jokes that weren’t appropriate when there are firearms in the school setting,” they added.