Bethal Park, Pennsylvania – Former classmate of assassin wannabe Thomas Matthew Crookes The 20-year-old shooter kept quiet with a small group of friends, she said, noting that she never condemned his actions at the Trump rally.
Sara D’Angelo, a nursing student, spoke to Fox News Digital about the few interactions she had with Crooks, who she attended school with for eight years and shared classrooms at Bethel Park High School.
D’Angelo described Crooks’ personality, interests, and perceptions of school.
“He had a small group of friends,” D’Angelo said. “He wasn’t a loner, but he wasn’t the most popular kid in class.”
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Sarah D’Angelo, who attended the same high school as Thomas Matthew Crooks, said the would-be Trump assassin had a small number of friends. (Fox News Digital)
The 20-year-old’s political leanings have been a topic of conversation, with some pointing to his Republican voter registration and others pointing to his $15 campaign contribution to a progressive political action committee.
D’Angelo said Crooks never revealed his political stance during American politics classes, even though they had taken them together in high school.
“we had [an] “American politics, semester three of my senior year of high school,” she said, “and he never made any public political opinions.”
Crooks’ classmate said they attended homeroom together in high school and also taught several classes together, including Advanced Placement classes.
“He would play on the computer during homeroom and get really into it,” she said, “and then he would sit with a few friends during lunch.”
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D’Angelo said he didn’t remember Crooks being bullied in high school, adding that there were other people at school who he thought were “more competent.”
“There were probably other kids at school who were probably more capable of doing that, and he’s definitely not one of them,” she said, “but it’s also because he didn’t talk to that many people, so we don’t really know what’s going on in his head.”
She said Crooks was a good student and graduated with honors. Bethel High School awarded silver or gold ribbons to outstanding students to show academic achievement.
In his high school graduation photo, Crooks is wearing a silver cord, which D’Angelo said represents a cumulative GPA of 3.85 or higher.
Thomas Matthew Crooks is a 2022 graduate of Bethel Park High School in Pennsylvania. (Source: Fox News Digital)
D’Angelo, who sat near Crooks at his high school graduation, recalled his final interaction with the student-turned-assassin.
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“He was just a few seats away from me. [at the graduation ceremony]”I remember talking to him and the other child and they made comments about the day and the length of the ceremony,” D’Angelo said.
Crooks is a 2022 graduate of Bethel Park High School. (Google Maps)
Classmates said Crooks was intelligent and regularly participated in class discussions.
“He was as involved as anybody could be,” she said. “He was always kind to those around him.”
This photo was taken in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania on July 15, 2024, and shows a home with ties to the suspected assassin. (AP Photo/Jean J. Puskar)
When D’Angelo first heard about the attempted assassination of the 45th president, he thought the perpetrator was a relative of a classmate.
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“It’s shocking that someone I knew from high school would do something so tragic,” she said. “Honestly, at first I thought it was a relative because when I heard Thomas, he was never called by that name. He was called Tom or Tommy.”
On July 15, a state police vehicle was seen blocking the entrance to the scene in Butler, Pennsylvania, where suspect Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Trump on July 13. (Reuters/Carlos Osorio)
The classmate said he had planned to attend a Trump rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler but decided not to attend at the last minute.
“It’s sad. I felt bad when I heard about it on Sunday because I never thought something like this would happen so close to home,” D’Angelo said. “I don’t want to speak for everyone, but we just want to move on from this.”
D’Angelo echoed what other classmates and residents have said, saying the town of 33,000 doesn’t expect the incident to define it all.
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“This is a close-knit, family-oriented community,” she said. “We’re good Americans, and Bethel High School is really close.”
“It is inconceivable that this event could have happened in Bethel Park,” she said. “Our hearts go out to the family affected by this incident.”
