Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who plotted to assassinate Donald Trump, never showed any political leanings during his high school years and was “quiet as a church mouse,” a school counselor said.
Crooks was a “well-behaved kid, he stayed out of trouble, he wasn’t the type of kid to get into trouble” during his time at Bethel Park High School, said retired counselor Jim Knapp, who said he saw no warning signs that would have led to Saturday’s shocking assassination attempt.
“The kids didn’t taunt him or bully him,” Knapp stressed, expressing confusion about what had made him lose his temper.
Knapp noted that even when students roamed the hallways in political attire supporting President Trump or President Biden, Crooks never joined in.
A retired counselor said she would approach Crooks if she saw him alone in the cafeteria, to offer help and companionship to lonely students, but the young man seemed content to be alone.
Given Crooks’ disinterested nature and lack of disciplinary action, Knapp was unable to determine what prompted the former student to attack Trump and his supporters at the Butler rally.
“Anyone can lose their temper, anyone can have problems,” he said. “Something triggered this young man to drive to Butler yesterday and do what he did.”
Knapp’s comments echoed those of Crooks’ classmates, some of whom described him as a “person with few friends” and a low-key personality.
Read the latest Washington Post article about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Follow The Washington Post’s live blog on the assassination attempt on President Trump for the latest updates
However, classmate Jason Kohler claimed Crooks had been “relentlessly” bullied in high school and was known to wear “hunting” clothes to class. KDKA reports.
Little is known about what motive Crooks, 20, may have had in the attack that left President Trump and two others wounded and killed a former volunteer fire chief.
Crook was shot and killed after opening fire on the former president and his supporters at a rally in Butler, and investigators found explosives in his car parked not far from the rally.
With post wire
