The first mugshot of suspected gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, has been released.
Cooks, 20, was on the roof of a manufacturing plant more than 130 yards from Trump’s rally at the Butler Farm Show on Saturday when he opened fire on the former president, grazed him in the ear and killing one rally attendee.
The 20-year-old man, who was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper shortly after the shooting began, was carrying an AR-style semi-automatic assault rifle and was wearing a shirt from the popular firearms YouTube channel “Demolition Ranch.”
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“He didn’t seem like a particularly odd person,” one former classmate who reviewed Crooks’ photo told The Post. “I would have just assumed he was a Republican.”
The classmate added: “He was more of a loner. I think he had a group of friends, but not many.”
When asked why he wasn’t in the 2022 yearbook, a classmate replied, “Maybe he didn’t come back after COVID.”
Crooks grew up in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles south of where Trump held his rally in Butler.
State voter records show he was registered as a Republican.
He also made a $15 donation to the liberal ActBlue political action committee on January 20, 2021, the day of President Biden’s inauguration. The Intercept reported.
Crooks was 17 at the time of the donation. Records show he turned 18 in September of that year and registered to vote as a Republican.
Crooks was a member of Bethel Park High School’s Class of 2022, the school district confirmed Sunday morning.
Video shows him walking across the stage to receive his diploma.
He also received a $500 National Math and Science Initiative Star Award during his graduation year, according to Triblive.
It’s unclear why Crooks is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
Early Sunday morning, the FBI officially confirmed the Washington Post report, calling Crooks a “person of interest” in the attack on Trump.
