Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, held dozens of target practice sessions at a local gun club before the attack, including on Christmas Day, newly obtained recordings show.
According to records obtained and released Thursday by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the 20-year-old man made multiple visits to the Clairton Sportsman’s Club in Pennsylvania and spent about 80 percent of his time practicing shooting with a rifle.
“Crooks was focused almost exclusively on the rifle range throughout 2024,” Grassley’s office said in a statement, adding that the newly released recordings were evidence of Crooks’ “extensive preparations” before launching the attack on Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Records show Crooks visited the gun club a total of 43 times after signing up as a member in August of last year.
According to attendance records, he attended 20 practices in just his first four months after joining, and averaged three to six practices per month this year.
Crooks, who has never taken guests to a shooting range before, visited the range on Christmas and Halloween last year and on Valentine’s Day this year.
His final visit was recorded at 2:45 p.m. on Friday, July 12, the day before he opened fire on the former president with an AR-15 rifle from a nearby rooftop.
The would-be assassin was shot dead by a Secret Service counter-sniper moments after firing a bullet into President Trump’s ear and killing a bystander.
Grassley’s office said the newly released attendance records were provided by the gun club at the request of Congress.
Timeline of the attempted assassination of President Trump
These videos came to light the same day new body camera footage was released showing a Butler Township police officer being hoisted onto the roof where Crooks was sitting, looking straight down the barrel of the shooter’s rifle.
The footage showed the officer being lifted by a fellow officer and peering over the edge of the roof.
Just minutes later, he can be seen running around the building, attempting to warn fellow officers and passersby who were watching nearby.
“He has glasses and long hair,” the officer says in the video, describing the backpack and AR-15 rifle Crooks was carrying.
Seconds later, Crooks began firing shots.
When police and investigators later gathered on the roof, he found his body covered in blood.
