Investigation into Thomas Crook’s Motive for Attempted Assassination
There’s still a lot of confusion surrounding the motives of 20-year-old Thomas Crook, who attempted to kill Donald Trump on July 13, coinciding with the anniversary of Trump’s assassination attempt on himself.
A comprehensive report aired by CBS this week, which the network labeled as the “most extensive portrait” of Crook to date, has shed some light on the situation. This report is grounded in interviews, public records, and an extensive review of documents from various agencies, as well as conversations with over a dozen friends, professors, and law enforcement officials.
Despite the rigorous research, CBS concluded that:
He did not leave behind a manifesto. There’s no clear explanation for why he targeted the former and future president, leaving investigators and those close to him scrambling to understand his actions leading up to that day.
Other media outlets echo this sense of mystery. Even local papers like Butler Eagle have suggested that Crook led a secretive double life, one that offered little insight into his motives prior to the assassination attempt.
Interestingly, the CBS report suggests that if Crook had been acting in self-defense, it might not have raised any alarms.
The troubling portrait that emerges is of a bright student from a community college who had dreams of becoming an engineer, but who ended up on a rooftop, where he fired a shot—injuring himself and two others while killing one person.
Tristan Radcliffe, who knew Crook since kindergarten and saw him almost daily, remarked on how detached he seemed, always immersed in his work, appearing more intelligent than his peers.
Crook’s academic journey took a promising turn when he enrolled at Allegheny County Community College in 2022, thanks to a high SAT score placing him in the national 99th percentile. He had ambitions of pursuing a four-year engineering program and was regarded as a “star student” by a former professor.
Before the fall of 2023, Crook’s online presence seemed typical for someone his age; he shared music and spent time on social media like many of his contemporaries. However, according to interviews, he began to shift his focus toward more concerning topics, including news about explosives and firearms.
That summer, he purchased a rifle from his father for $500 and got a membership at a local shooting range, where he reportedly practiced shooting more than three dozen rounds.
The psychological profile of Crook remains unclear, although one report included an interview with a high school classmate who described him as “bullied” and “lonely” throughout his school years.
Crooks’ tendency toward isolation was highlighted by anecdotes that surfaced during interviews. For instance, when tasked with delivering a speech in front of his classmates, he reached out to his professor asking to be excused.
In one message, he mentioned:
“I’m currently living with my mom and dad. There aren’t any other adults in my home, just my sister who lives nearby.”
