Crooks described as a bookish, kind ‘outcast’
The 2022 class of a suburban high school near Pittsburgh is under the national spotlight after authorities say one of its graduates tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump, killing one spectator and injuring two others at a weekend campaign rally in Butler County.
Several alumni of Bethel Park High School who knew Thomas Matthew Crooks have spoken to media outlets, including The Inquirer, since the Saturday shooting. And they paint a conflicting portrait of the 20-year-old suburban student who opened fire on the campaign event.
To some former classmates, Crooks was a bookish and kind student with a penchant for government and economics. To others, he was a reclusive loner who they recalled being tormented by other students. One said he was an outspoken conservative, while others don’t recall him broadcasting political views.
Crooks left behind an unusually small digital footprint for a 20-year-old, complicating the search for motive. He was a registered Republican, worked as a dietary aide at a health-care facility, and had recently graduated from community college. The FBI recovered bomb-making materials in the gunman’s car and residence. Investigators have seized Crooks’ cellphone and other belongings for analysis.
As the search for motive continues, here’s what those who knew him recall.
‘He was just an outcast’
Jason Kohler was one of the first former classmates to speak on national television Sunday. The 20-year-old Kohler said he did not know Crooks well, nor take any classes with him. But he recalled the slain gunman as “just an outcast” who often wore “hunting” outfits to school.
‘He was a nerdy kid … very kind’
Former classmate Mark Sigafoos, speaking to The Inquirer on Sunday, disputed the characterization that Crooks was a bullied loner. Sigafoos recalled the shooter as a sharp student with a keen interest in government and economics, who was willing to help other students understand difficult coursework.
“He was very kind,” Sigafoos said. “He was a nerdy kid, but I don’t think he was as harshly bullied as some people are saying. … No one that I know said they ever found him to be a creepy, loner kind of guy.”
‘He definitely was conservative’
Former classmate Max R. Smith recounted to The Inquirer a history class he took with Crooks. While most of the students in class leaned liberal, he said, Crooks stood out for his conservative viewpoints.
“He definitely was conservative,” Smith said. “That’s still the picture I have of him. Just standing alone on one side while the rest of the class was on the other.”
Like other former classmates, Smith was mystified as to Crooks could have gone on to try to make an assassination attempt against Trump.
“Everybody is in shock,” Smith said. “He was so quiet, I wouldn’t imagine him doing that. But I guess that was the same deal with Columbine.”
‘He never outwardly spoke about his political views’
Sarah D’Angelo, another former classmate, told The Wall Street Journal that Crooks had a “few friends” but not a “whole friend group.” She did not recall him showing animosity toward Trump — or sharing any political thoughts at all.
“He never outwardly spoke about his political views or how much he hated Trump or anything,” D’Angelo said Sunday.
‘He was a normal boy’
Jameson Myers, who graduated in 2022 with the gunman, said Crooks tried out for but did not make the high school gun club. The former classmate remembered Crooks as “nice kid who never talked poorly of anyone.”
“When I did speak with him, he just seemed like a normal boy who was not particularly popular but never got picked on or anything,” Myers told CBS News .
‘His background check was clean’
Crooks’ former employee also expressed shock. Marcie Grimm, administrator of the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center where Crooks worked as a nutritional aide, issued a statement Sunday saying “Crooks performed his job without concern and his background check was clean.”
