Why Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to assassinate Donald Trump is a mystery to investigators and his ex-classmates

BETHEL PARK, Pa. — In the sea of caps and gowns, Thomas Matthew Crooks hardly stood out.

Few people clapped when his name was called. A YouTube video of his graduation two years ago from Bethel Park High School shows a slender and bespectacled student receiving his diploma with a soft smile.

But the class of 2022 awoke Sunday to learn that the 20-year-old Allegheny County man was notorious, the shooter in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a rally that left an ex-firefighter, Corey Comperatore, dead and two other attendees wounded.

U.S. Secret Service counter-snipers killed Crooks moments after he opened fire on the Saturday night rally from a nearby rooftop. The FBI said Sunday they believed he acted alone. He had not been on the bureau’s radar.

» READ MORE: FBI probing motives, background of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the Western Pa. gunman behind Donald Trump assassination attempt

Crooks’ actions shocked residents in his hometown, sparked countless conspiracy theories online, and prompted investigators to begin combing through every aspect of his life, looking for motive.

The mystery has been fueled by a near-total absence of Crooks’ social media postings, political writings, or other digital fingerprints.

Several former classmates appeared on national television Sunday, quickly casting Crooks as a stereotypical loner who was bullied heavily during his time at Bethel Park. One of them, Jason Kohler, told reporters Sunday that students tormented Crooks “almost every day” and that he often wore “hunting” outfits to class.

“He was just an outcast,” Kohler said, “and you know how kids are nowadays.”

Yet, two former students interviewed by The Inquirer disputed the characterization.

They did not recall specific incidents of violence or other antagonism involving their now-infamous classmate in the community they described as generally tight-knit.

Mark Sigafoos remembered Crooks as the quiet but friendly kid he shared two classes with at Bethel Park.

“He was very kind,” Sigafoos said Sunday, by phone. “He was a nerdy kid, but I don’t think he was as harshly bullied as some people are saying. He never wore trench coats or anything of the sort to school.”

A Tribune-Review article from Bethel Park’s June 2022 graduation credited Crooks with earning an academic award, for math and science. And Sigafoos said that when he didn’t understand the course material, Crooks was someone he turned to for help.

The thought that the mild-mannered student would try to kill former President Trump was difficult to process.

“I feel like this is one of those things that you wouldn’t expect from him,” Sigafoos said. “No one that I know said they ever found him to be a creepy, loner kind of guy.”

» READ MORE: Conspiracy theories spread wildly online after Trump shooting

FBI investigators found materials for two explosive devices in Crooks’ car, according to the New York Times. Police on Sunday restricted public access to the gunman’s home in Bethel Park, nestled in a middle-class suburb eight miles south of Pittsburgh.

The slight traces of public information Crooks left behind leave few clues about his political ideology.

Federal campaign finance records show he made a $15 donation to progressive political action committee in 2021 after President Joe Biden’s election, but later registered as a Republican, according to Pennsylvania voter data. His father was a registered Libertarian, his mother a Democrat.

Crooks’ body was found on the rooftop of an agricultural tool manufacturing plant a few hundred feet from the rally with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle — legally purchased by his father. The shooter was wearing a T-shirt promoting “The Demolition Ranch,” a YouTube channel for gun enthusiasts.

» READ MORE: What we know about the deadly shooting at the Trump rally in Butler, Pa.

If Crooks maintained any personal social media presence, it went largely undetected on Sunday. Discord, an instant messaging platform mainly used by video gamers, released a statement acknowledging Crooks held a “rarely utilized” account that contained no information relevant to the shooting.

Sigafoos did not recall Crooks making political overtures in class, but rather as someone interested in how government works, and “not trying to insert his own beliefs into it.”

Another former classmate did not share this view.

Max R. Smith recalled taking an American history course with Crooks as a sophomore. He did recall Crooks making political statements — but they shed no light on his actions Saturday.

“He definitely was conservative,” he said. “It makes me wonder why he would carry out an assassination attempt on the conservative candidate.”

Smith recalled a mock debate in which their history professor posed government policy questions and asked students to stand on one side of the classroom or the other to signal their support or opposition for a given proposal.

“The majority of the class were on the liberal side, but Tom, no matter what, always stood his ground on the conservative side,” Smith said. “That’s still the picture I have of him. Just standing alone on one side while the rest of the class was on the other.”

The former classmate also recalled Crooks as generally kind and intelligent, if reserved.

“Everybody is in shock,” Smith said. “He was so quiet, I wouldn’t imagine him doing that. But I guess that was the same deal with Columbine.”

“Shocked would be an understatement,” Sigafoos added. “None of my friends can fathom that a dude we knew would try and kill Trump.”

» READ MORE: Corey Comperatore identified as man killed in Trump rally shooting

Bethel Park High School said it would comply with investigators. On Sunday, the sprawling school campus was quiet, emptied for the summer, save for a police car parked in front of the main building.

Crooks’ career arc since high school is also not entirely clear. Crooks listed himself as unemployed in 2020, but most recently worked as a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a state-licensed transitional care facility.

And there too, his employer saw no cause for concern. Marcie Grimm, the center’s administrator, said in a statement Sunday that the facility was complying with federal investigators.

“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,” Grimm said.

» READ MORE: GOP delegates from Pa. prepare to give Trump a ‘hero’s welcome’ in Milwaukee

He graduated from the Community College of Allegheny County two months ago, earning an associate degree in engineering science, school officials said in a statement to the New York Times, saying they were “shocked and saddened by the horrific turn of events.”

Relatives of Crooks could not be immediately reached.

By Sunday afternoon, police had cordoned off surrounding roads that lead to the home of Crooks’ parents in the Hill Crest neighborhood of Bethel Park, with closed road signs dotting the street and a traffic attendant waving cars to a detour. The residence was surrounded by law enforcement and federal agents.

About 45 minutes south of Butler, at the home of one of his relatives in the town of Allison Park, no one answered the door, adorned with a pastel-colored wreath.

This article includes information from the Associated Press.