On July 13, 2024, at a rally nearButler, Pennsylvania, Crooks shot at Trump with anAR-15–style rifle from a nearby rooftop while Trump was giving a speech. Crooks wounded Trump's ear and killed one attendee while critically injuring two others before being killed by aSecret Service counter sniper team. His motive remains unknown; theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concluded its investigation in November 2025.[5]
Very little information about Crooks was released to the public by the FBI. Public opinion polls show that over half of Americans believe that Crooks did not act alone.[6] The assassination attempt has resulted inconspiracy theories.[7][8][9]
Early life and education
Thomas Matthew Crooks was born on September 20, 2003,[3] and he grew up inBethel Park, Pennsylvania, south ofPittsburgh.[10] Both of Crooks' parents worked aslicensed professional counselors, but appear to have left the profession in 2024.[11][12] Recollections about him, including information about his life and personality, vary considerably.[13]
Crooks attended Abraham Lincoln Elementary School from 2009 to 2014. One of Crooks' friends who attended this school with him, said he was a "nice boy" who "kept to himself."[11] Crooks began attending Neil Armstrong Middle School in 2015, but he transferred to Independence Middle School in 2016 where he remained until he entered high school in 2018. He joined theNational Technical Honor Society in 2021 while a junior in high school.[14] In 2022, he graduatedBethel Park High School with high honors and won a $500 "star award" from theNational Math and Science Initiative.[15][16][17][18] Crooks earned a score of 1530 out of 1600 on theSAT, as well as perfect grades on threeAdvanced Placement exams.[19] Classmates and school officials characterized him as being quiet;[19] classmates said that he was often bullied for various reasons,[3][4][17] including his quiet demeanor and body odor, as well as for wearingcamouflage hunting outfits to school.[3][20] Criminologists have suggested that the bullying and isolation may have contributed to Crooks' decision to assassinate Trump.[21][22]
During his freshman year of high school, Crooks anonymously posted threats online, warning students at Bethel Park High School to not come to school the next day. Here, Crooks had claimed to have placed bombs inside the bathrooms in the school's cafeteria. Many students stayed home the following day. The threats were dismissed by the school's administration, and no legal actions were taken.[21][23]
Crooks earned anassociate degree in engineering science from theCommunity College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, graduating two months before the shooting. He was employed as a dietary aide in a nursing home at the time of the shooting.[24][25][26][27] According to the nursing home, which is less than a mile away from where he lived, he had passed a background check and "performed his job without concern".[28] He had been accepted into both theUniversity of Pittsburgh andRobert Morris University inMoon Township, Pennsylvania, northwest of Pittsburgh, and planned to attend the latter.[28][29][19] He had been a member of a local shooting club for at least a year.[26]
Crooks' father noticed his mental health declining in the year before the shooting, and particularly in the months after graduation. He later told investigators that he had seen his son talking to himself and dancing around his bedroom late at night, and that his family had a history of mental health and addiction issues. Crooks was also making depression-related queries online, investigators found. Interviews with his teachers, friends, and co-workers suggest that many people who interacted with him regularly did not know he was troubled.[19]
On December6, 2023, almost seven months before the shooting, Crooks rapidly cycled through several news websites, includingCNN,The New York Times, andFox News, before visiting the Trump administration’s archives. Then, he visited seven gun websites, including one focused on the AR-15, similar to the rifle he would use in the attack. Later that day, he paid a visit to his local shooting range. Much of his online activity in the months before the shooting is not known, because he frequently used avirtual private network.[11]
In January 2024, Crooks placed a $101.91 order online for more than two gallons ofnitromethane, a fuel additive that can be used in explosives, giving his home address for delivery. The package did not arrive promptly. On January31 at 7:44a.m.EST, Crooks sent an email to the company asking what happened to the package.[19]
On July6, 2024, the same day he registered for the rally, Crooks searched "how far wasOswald from Kennedy", in reference to former presidentJohn F. Kennedy and the gunman whoassassinated him.[37] Crooks also searched for information on power plants and theattempted assassination of Slovakian prime ministerRobert Fico. He used a number of aliases and encrypted communication accounts to buy firearm supplies and bomb-making material.[38] On July12, 2024, Crooks went to a shooting range where he was a member to practice firing.[39]
Before going to the rally on July13, Crooks purchased 50rounds of ammunition and a ladder.[40] He requested the day off from work because he had "something important to do", telling his co-workers that he would return the next day.[41][14] Hours before the shooting, Crooks' parents had called the police to report him as missing and expressed concern about his wellbeing.[42][better source needed] On July13, Crooks went to the Trump rally.[43] He climbed onto a building that was being used by police as a staging area.[44] Text messages from a police sniper indicate that the police were already aware of his presence 90 minutes before he opened fire.[45][46] He was armed with anAR-15–style rifle, which his father had bought legally in 2013 and was then legally transferred to him in 2023.[38][47] Crooks fired a total of eight shots; one bullet grazed Trump's upper right ear, but he was otherwise unharmed.[48] Three adult male audience members were also hit;[49] one of them, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, suffered a fatal wound.[50] Crooks was subsequently killed by a member of theSecret Service Counter Sniper Team,[51][52] who shot him in the head.[53] Bomb-making materials were found inside his vehicle and at his home, and a remote detonator was found on his body.[54] The FBI identified him as the shooter on July14.[43] An investigation by the FBI was reported to be underway in July 2024, which concluded in November 2025.[55] Crooks' motives remain unknown.[56]
The rifle and backpack used by Crooks at the assassination attempt
The rifle used by Crooks during the assassination attempt, with visible damage to the stock of the firearm after being struck by police gunfire at Crooks
Political activities
Authorities have said that Crooks' political views are unknown, and they have not determined whether his assassination attempt was politically motivated.[13] Public records do not indicate his views.[57]
On January20, 2021, when Crooks was 17, he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberalvoter turnout group, through theDemocratic Party donation platformActBlue.[18][58][26][59] His donation was made on the same day that President Biden wassworn into office.[17] According to the Progressive Turnout Project, he made the donation in response to an email about "tuning into" the inauguration. He unsubscribed from the group's mailing list in 2022.[60][57]
In April 2023, Crooks showed his frustration with American politics in a school essay aboutranked-choice voting, where he claimed "divisive and incendiary campaigns are pulling the country apart". In another essay, Crooks criticized howNASA handled the 1986Challenger disaster. He blamed NASA's administrators for the incident, claiming they were "trying to live up to the lofty promises they made toCongress which they were never going to be able to fulfill".[19]
After the shooting, the FBI uncovered a social media account "believed to be associated with the shooter" with about 700 comments from 2019 to 2020. A public statement from FBI deputy directorPaul Abbate described Crooks' activity onsocial networking services as including comments that "appear to reflectantisemitic andanti-immigration themes" and "espousepolitical violence".[63] Abbate noted that the findings were preliminary and that the comments were still in the process of being authenticated.[64] Some of these alleged comments indicated that Crooks may have been fascinated with the idea of assassinating political opponents, while frequently quoting former Chinese leaderMao Zedong such as; "The only true political power comes from the barrel of a gun."[65]
^A claimed fourth injury from gunfire—U.S. representativeRonny Jackson's nephew—has not been confirmed byindependent sources; the sole source is Jackson himself.[1]
^Cheatle, Kimberly (July 15, 2024)."Statement From U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle" (Press release).United States Secret Service.Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. RetrievedJuly 15, 2024.Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former president Donald Trump.
^abcTolan, Casey; Freeman, Danny; de Puy Kamp, Majlie; Devine, Curt; Chapman, Isabelle (July 14, 2024)."What we know about the Trump rally gunman so far".CNN.Archived from the original on July 14, 2024. RetrievedJuly 15, 2024.So far, investigators haven't found any evidence on social media or other writings by Crooks that might help identify his motive for the attempted assassination, law enforcement officials say... And a review of public records suggests he may have had divergent political leanings, with Crooks registering to vote as a Republican but making a small donation to a Democratic-leaning group.
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