The Pennsylvania man who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump during a rally on Saturday tried out for his high school’s rifle team, but he was rejected for being a “terrible” shot and making “off-color” jokes.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, killed a hero Trump supporter and wounded two others when opened fire on the Butler Farm Show grounds with an AR-style rifle Butler Farm Show grounds. But, he only grazed the former President before he was shot dead by the Secret Service.
A few years before the assassination attempt, Crooks tried out for the rifle team at Bethel Park High School, two former classmates told The Post.
Everything we know about Trump assassination attempt
- Former President Donald Trump was targeted by a shooter during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania
- Trump’s face was grazed by a bullet during the shooting
- The gunman and one bystander have been killed
- President Biden addressed the nation and referred to the shooting as sick, saying he “tried to get ahold of Donald”
- Exclusive: First photos of Thomas Matthew Crooks emerge after assassination attempt
- Donald Trump urges the nation to not let ‘evil win’ and ‘fear not’ after shooting
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Keep up to date on updates with The Post’s live blog on the assassination attempt on Trump
The team at Bethel Park shoots Anschutz single-shot rifles with peep sights and .22-caliber ammunition, Jameson Murphy and another former student explained.
The shooting range at the school is 50 feet long by 21 feet wide, with seven ranges.
Crooks once fired from the seventh lane — the closest lane to the right wall — and hit the left wall, completely missing every target on the back wall. He missed his target by close to 20 feet, Murphy recalled.
“He tried out…and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day,” Murphy said.
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Crooks – who has been described as a loner who wore hunting outfits to class – ”couldn’t shoot at all. He was a terrible shot,” the second classmate added.
Even the coach, they continued, had concerns about Crooks.
“Our old coach was a stickler, he trained Navy marksmen, so he knew people. He knew when someone’s not the greatest person,” the ex-classmate explained.
“We noticed a few things Thomas said and how he interacted with other people… He said some things that were kind of concerning,” the classmate said.
“You know, obviously, we’re using guns in a school setting so you need to be very careful in that regard.”
“He made some crass jokes that weren’t appropriate when there are firearms in the school setting,” they said, without elaborating on what exactly Crooks said