Washington – The gunman who fired shots into former President Donald Trump’s home Election rally The Butler, Pennsylvania, resident was rejected from his high school rifle team, a former classmate said.
Classmate Jameson Myers graduated in 2022, the same class as the shooter arrested by the FBI. Identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20. Myers was a member of the Bethel Park High School rifle shooting team and said he and Crooks were close in elementary school, but not in high school.
Myers said Crooks tried out for the rifle team as a freshman but did not make the varsity team as a junior. Crooks did not return to try out for the team during his time in high school.
He called Crooks “a good kid who wouldn’t say a bad thing about anybody” and said, “After seeing how he’s acted the last few days, I just didn’t think he could do it.”
“When I talked to him, he seemed like a normal kid, not particularly popular but not bullied either,” Myers said.
Crooks, 34, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper at the rally after police said he had a semi-automatic rifle and a suspicious device was found in his vehicle.
Summer Barkley, a high school classmate, told CBS station KDKA in Pittsburgh that while Crooks wasn’t popular, he was still a good student who had a group of friends and was beloved by his teachers. Barkley said she didn’t see any warning signs that Crooks would do something like this.
Another classmate, Jason Koehler, had a slightly different take, telling KDKA that Crooks was bullied for her appearance and was a loner who would wear camouflage or hunting gear during class. He said Crooks would often sit alone in the cafeteria before class. He also said Crooks was hyper-aware of COVID-19 and would wear a surgical mask even long after it was mandated.
But Mark Sigafoos, who graduated with Crooks and took two classes with him during his senior year, said he never saw Crooks being bullied. He described Crooks as very smart and friendly, actively participating in class and always volunteering answers.
“That’s one of those misconceptions. He wasn’t the type to be alone in a trench coat. And, yes, he was a nerd, but he never came across as a creep or a school shooter,” Sigafoos said. “He just seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn’t kill a fly.”
Law enforcement officials said early Sunday that the Secret Service and FBI were investigating the suspect’s background and were speaking with his family. The FBI has sealed off the suspect’s home and federal law enforcement is searching the suspect’s family home outside Pittsburgh, the law enforcement official said.
“At this time, a motive has not been determined,” Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office said at a press conference late Saturday night.
Trump He posted on social media that he was shot by a bullet above his right ear during the attack at the rally in Pennsylvania. He was examined at a local hospital and then flew to New Jersey late Saturday night.
One of the attendees at the rally said, Corey ComperatoreAuthorities said a man was killed in the shooting and two other men were left in critical condition.
Jessica Kegg and Megan Schiller contributed reporting.
