The school district attended by Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, released a statement Saturday clearing up “misconceptions” that Crooks was bullied or was on the school’s rifle team.
Bethel Park School District (BPSD) is a former statement In a statement, BPSD clarified “common misconceptions” that Crooks “tried out” for the Bethel Park High School rifle team and was “dismissed,” and that Crooks had made “threats of violence” and been bullied.
“The district will use this space from time to time to clear up common misconceptions about this incident,” BPSD wrote.
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It was previously reported that Crooks “tried out for the rifle team” at the school but was not accepted, according to two classmates.
One of Crooks’ former classmates, Jameson Murphy, Said of New York Post Crooks was a “comically bad shot”.
However, BPSD noted that Crooks “was never a member of the school’s rifle team,” there was “no record of him ever having a tryout” and the coach “does not recall ever meeting him.”
It has been reported that Thomas Crooks was a member of the Bethel Park High School rifle team or received a tryout, but was dismissed due to poor performance or what the coach considered to be character issues. Thomas Crooks was never a member of the school’s rifle team, and there is no record of him having received a tryout. The coach does not recall meeting him. However, it is possible that Crooks unofficially attended practice, shot some shots, and never returned. There is no record of such.
BPSD also noted that there was a “false allegation” that Crooks had “threatened violence against the school” in 2019.
“This incident was thoroughly investigated and addressed immediately, and the student involved received appropriate disciplinary action,” BPSD wrote. “It is in no way related to Thomas Crooks.”
The school district continued to address the “hurtful misconception” that Crooks “was relentlessly bullied at school,” noting that he “excelled academically” and “attended school regularly.”
“There is a painful misconception that Thomas Crooks was subjected to relentless bullying at school, which may have led to an assassination attempt on former President Trump. The school district keeps detailed records, including academic achievement, attendance, disciplinary history and health records. Our records show that Mr. Crooks excelled academically, attended school regularly and never received disciplinary action, including related to bullying or intimidation.”
Crooks was known as a quiet, intelligent young man who generally got along well with his teachers and classmates.
On July 13, Crooks fired shots from the roof of a nearby building, within direct line of sight of the former president, hitting Trump above his right ear with a “penetrating bullet.”
As previously reported by Breitbart News, a former classmate of Crooks’ said he was “passionate” about politics but hated “all” politicians.
Fox News report The senators were told Crooks had written on a gaming platform called Steam that July 13 was “launch date, let’s watch how it unfolds.” Investigators also reportedly searched Crooks’ laptop, where they found search terms such as “Trump,” “Biden,” “when is the Democratic National Convention” and “July 13 Trump rally.”
CNN Later report FBI agents believed the Steam account was fake.
