Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old man suspected of shooting former President Donald Trump, was routinely bullied in high school, according to a former schoolmate.
Jason Kohler, who attended the same high school as the alleged shooter, told a reporter what he remembers about Crooks. “He was bullied almost every day,” he said. “He would sit alone at lunch. I mean, he was just an outcast.”
Kohler further described how other students would pick on Crooks:
And you know how kids are nowadays. So they're gonna see someone like that and they gonna target him because they think it's funny or whatever. So it's the best way I can describe it. And it's honestly kind of sad. Like, I don't want to say this is what provoked it, but you never know...
Yeah. I want to say he was a loner more because he was just... He was quiet, but, like, he was just bullied. Like, he was bullied so much. So much.
The reporter asked if Kohler remembered what names the other students called him. “No, he was just made fun of, I guess, for the way he dressed or his appearance.”
Kohler noted that Crooks would “wear hunting outfits sometimes” and also continued wearing a mask even after the COVID-19 pandemic had subsided.
He would always wear a mask. Even after Covid. He wore a mask like, a Covid mask even after Covid was over and all that.
According to NBC Washington, Thomas Matthew Crooks was frequently bullied for things like wearing a mask when in high school.
— L (@SomeBitchIIKnow) July 14, 2024
This is former classmate Jason Kohler. Everything about his demeanor and speech patterns are bizarre and off to me, what do you think? pic.twitter.com/mpIZ9UvD98
The authorities identified Crooks hours after he allegedly shot former President Trump in the ear and killed a rallygoer attending the event at which the incident occurred.
According to multiple reports, he has been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a native of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
The gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump Saturday was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, sources told The Post.
Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pa., squeezed off shots — one of which grazed Trump in the ear — at an outdoor rally in Butler, just outside Pittsburgh.
Sources said Crooks was planted on a roof of a manufacturing plant more than 130 yards away from the stage at Butler Farm Show grounds.
No information about Crooks' background has been released as of this writing. By Sunday, his social media accounts (if they exist) will no doubt have been combed over.
The authorities have not yet established a motive for Crooks’ actions. There has been much speculation about his political leanings. He had been registered as a Republican but was also found to have donated to Democrats.
The Secret Service has fallen under scrutiny for its failure to stop the shooting despite rallygoers warning law enforcement that they had seen Crooks on the building from which he fired the shots.
President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Sunday, condemning the assassination attempt. “There is no place in America for this kind of violence, or any violence, for that matter.”
Biden once again says "there is no place in America for this kind of violence, or any violence, for that matter" after Trump assassination attempt. pic.twitter.com/BEX4fFgunT
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 14, 2024
The president also indicated that he ordered an independent investigation into the incident.
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