The man who shot former President Donald Trump last Saturday was a high-achieving college student and seemed to have a promising future, a former teacher said.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was a thoughtful, polite student at Allegheny Community College in Pittsburgh, where he graduated in May with an associate’s degree in engineering.
Before Saturday’s assassination attempt, Crooks had been planning to continue his studies at nearby Robert Morris University.
One former teacher, who declined to be identified, said he was so shocked by the shooting that he reviewed his son’s homework and noted he had “gon above and beyond expectations” as a student.
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Thomas Crooks graduated from Allegheny County Community College in Pittsburgh in May with an associate’s degree in engineering. (AP/Getty)
She recalled a project where Crooks completed a chess set for the blind.
“He printed it on a 3D printer and put Braille on it,” the educator said. “He spoke to experts in the field. He really took great care.”
Crooks was shot dead by a sniper after firing a volley at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, with a bullet grazing the former president’s ear and killing former firefighter Corey Comperatore.
Another employee said he was shocked that Crooks, of Bethel Park, would commit the murders because he seemed focused on pursuing a career as an engineer.
“It was really, really, really unexpected,” the employee said.
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Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump is hurriedly escorted off the stage during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Samuel Strodman, a classmate taking the same online class as Crooks, said Crooks rarely spoke during lectures and turned off his camera during class.
Ms Crooks, who classmates said was bullied in high school about her appearance, worked as a nutritionist at a local nursing home, where administrators said she had done her job without issue.
One of Crooks’ classmates at Bethel Park High School said he was an avid gamer who enjoyed building computers.
School counselor Jim Knapp recalled seeing Crooks sitting alone at lunchtime and, although he would occasionally check in on the isolated boy, he said he enjoyed being alone.
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Two men believed to be FBI agents spoke with neighbors of Trump gunman Thomas Matthew Crook a week after he opened fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Classmate Max Rich told Fox News Digital that he was a “quiet” child.
“He had a group of friends and he only talked to them,” he said. “A couple of guys. I was just shocked. I never thought something like that would happen from someone I knew.”
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Records show Crooks’ father was a registered Republican but not a registered Libertarian, and his mother was a registered Democrat.
Investigators have not yet determined a motive for the assassination attempt.
Reuters contributed to this report.
