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New York Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Piecing Together the Story of a Would-Be Assassin
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. There are some stories that you just can't let go. That's what happened to me with the mysterious case of Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old who last July tried to assassinate Donald J. Trump at a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pa. I remember the moment well. It was early Saturday evening when my phone began to light up with notifications: Mr. Trump had been shot. By the following morning, the authorities had identified Mr. Crooks as the gunman who fired eight bullets toward Mr. Trump, grazing him in the ear. Mr. Crooks had also killed a bystander and injured two others before the Secret Service shot and killed him. Immediately, my colleagues and I began trying to learn everything we could about Mr. Crooks. I worked the phones while other reporters cultivated sources in law enforcement and knocked on the doors of Mr. Crooks's classmates and neighbors, looking for clues about why his life had taken a murderous turn. Within a few days, we published an article tracing Mr. Crooks's path from honor student to gunman. The piece offered an eye-opening portrait, but there was still so much about him that remained unknown. But the world seemed to move on. The presidential race was underway; President Joseph R. Biden Jr. dropped out and Vice President Kamala Harris replaced him on the ticket; there was another apparent assassination attempt, this time at one of Mr. Trump's golf courses in Florida; and then, Mr. Trump reclaimed the presidency. I was busy, too, working on a series of stories exploring another pressing matter: the dependence of American companies on undocumented migrant workers. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Report gives new details on Trump assassination attempt suspect's 'descent into madness'
The 20-year-old gunman who tried to assassinate President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last summer experienced a "descent into madness" leading up to the incident, during which he was "having conversations with someone that wasn't there," a new report says. The New York Times, citing thousands of pages of school assignments, internet activity logs and interviews with dozens of people who knew Thomas Matthew Crooks and the investigation surrounding him, among other documents, reported this week that "he went through a gradual and largely hidden transformation from a meek engineering student critical of political polarization to a focused killer who tried to build bombs." "There was a mysteriousness to Thomas Crooks's descent into madness," Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who served on a Congressional task force that investigated the July 13, 2024 shooting, told the newspaper. He was "having conversations with someone that wasn't there," Higgins added, after learning information about Crooks' mental health during a trip to Pennsylvania to investigate the assassination attempt. Prior to the shooting targeting Trump, the only time Crooks got into trouble was receiving lunch detention in middle school for chewing gum, according to the New York Times. The newspaper reported that Crooks scored 1530 out of a possible 1600 on the SAT and graduated from the Community College of Allegheny County, where he spent several semesters on the dean's list while earning an engineering degree. He was preparing to transfer to Robert Morris University located outside of Pittsburgh, telling classmates he wanted to have a career in aerospace or robotics, the newspaper added. However, Crooks' father noticed his son's mental health taking a turn in the year before the shooting and especially after the May 2024 graduation, telling investigators he had seen Thomas talking to himself and dancing around in his bedroom late at night, the newspaper said. The alleged behavior coincided with a history of mental health and addiction struggles in Crooks' family, the New York Times reported, citing portions of a report from the Pennsylvania State Police. A classmate said to the newspaper that during high school, Crooks enjoyed talking about the economy and cryptocurrencies. At community college, he reportedly designed a chess board for the visually impaired, such as his mother, the New York Times added. "He seemed like a really intelligent kid – I thought he would be able to do whatever he wanted," Trish Thompson, who taught Crooks' engineering at the Community College of Allegheny County, told the newspaper. About a year before graduation, in April 2023, Crooks reportedly wrote an essay in favor of ranked-choice voting in American politics, arguing against "divisive and incendiary campaigns which are pulling the country apart." "As we move closer to the 2024 elections we should consider carefully the means by which we elect our officials," Crooks was quoted by the New York Times as saying. "We need an election system that promotes kindness and cooperation instead of division and anger." Around that same time, the FBI said, Crooks made more than 25 different firearm-related purchases from online vendors using an alias. One purchase that Crooks made with an encrypted email address was gallons of nitromethane, a fuel additive that can be used to build explosives, according to the New York Times. He reportedly listed his home address for the delivery. In the summer of 2023, Crooks joined a local gun club, the New York Times reported. The newspaper added that Crooks visited news and gun websites, as well as the Trump administration's archives, before narrowing his online searches in the days leading up to the attack to queries such as 'How far was Oswald from Kennedy?'" Searches also included "major depressive disorder" and "depression crisis," the Times said. He also reportedly continued to show up for his job as a dietary aide at the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in the weeks leading up to the Trump assassination attempt. On the night of the shooting, ATF agents visited Crooks' home in Bethel Park but had to evacuate after one spotted an ammunition can "with a white wire coming out" and a gallon jug labeled "nitromethane" in his closet, according to the New York Times. Outside the property, agents then interviewed Crooks' parents, with them saying he liked building things and visiting the gun range, and his father also reportedly claiming that he did not "know anything" about his son.
Asharq Al-Awsat
09-06-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
The Unraveling of the Man Who Almost Killed Trump
Steve Eder, Tawnell D. Hobbs* Thomas Crooks, 20, was a nerdy engineering student on the dean's list. He stockpiled explosive materials for months before his attack on Donald Trump, as his mental health eroded. Crooks was acting strangely. Sometimes he danced around his bedroom late into the night. Other times, he talked to himself with his hands waving unusual behaviors intensified last summer, after he graduated with high honors from a community college. He also visited a shooting range, grew out his thin brown hair and searched online for 'major depressive disorder' and 'depression crisis.' His father noticed the shift — mental health problems ran in the family. On the afternoon of July 13, Crooks told his parents he was heading to the range and left home with a rifle. Hours later, he mounted a roof at a presidential campaign rally in western Pennsylvania and tried to assassinate Donald Trump. A New York Times examination of the last years of the young man's life found that he went through a gradual and largely hidden transformation, from a meek engineering student critical of political polarization to a focused killer who tried to build bombs. For months he operated in secret, using aliases and encrypted networks, all while showing hints of a mental illness that may have caused his mind to unravel to an extent not previously reported. Dark Path Crooks followed his dark path with seemingly little notice from those closest to him. He stockpiled explosive materials in the small house he shared with his parents in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Investigators later found a crude homemade bomb inside his bedroom, not far from where his parents slept. Before his deadly assault, Thomas Crooks's only record of trouble was a lunch detention in middle school for chewing gum. In high school, he earned a top score on the SAT — 1530 out of a possible 1600 — and received perfect marks on three Advanced Placement exams, according to his academic records. He did not socialize much, but came out of his shell in a technology program in which he built computers. His teacher, Xavier Harmon, nicknamed him 'Muscles' — an ironic nod to his slight frame — which made him laugh. One high school classmate said Crooks enjoyed talking about the economy and cryptocurrencies, encouraging others to invest. On the rare occasions when the conversation turned to politics, he seemed to be in the middle of the road. No Political Affiliation On President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s inauguration day in January 2021, Crooks donated $15 to a committee backing Democrats. But when he turned 18 that fall, he registered as a Republican. His family's political affiliations were as diverse as the swing state they lived in: His older sister, Katherine, and his father were registered as Libertarians, and his mother was a Democrat. In April 2023, Crooks showed a glimpse of his frustration with American politics. In an essay arguing for ranked-choice voting, he lamented 'divisive and incendiary campaigns which are pulling the country apart.' 'As we move closer to the 2024 elections we should consider carefully the means by which we elect our officials,' Crooks wrote. 'We need an election system that promotes kindness and cooperation instead of division and anger.' Around the time he wrote the essay, he began using an alias to buy from online firearms vendors, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He would make at least 25 gun-related purchases before the fateful rally. Final Preparations On Dec. 6, 2023, about seven months before the shooting, he rapidly cycled through about a dozen news websites, including CNN, The New York Times and Fox News, before visiting the Trump administration's archives, the logs show. Minutes later, 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 the shooting range. Interviews with his teachers, friends and co-workers suggest that many people who interacted with him regularly did not know he was troubled, let alone capable of premeditated murder. His 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, according to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, parts of which were shared with The New York Times. About a week before the shooting, Crooks's internet searches became especially focused, the FBI said. In the weeks after the shooting, the FBI released preliminary findings based on details gleaned from interviews and Crooks's devices suggesting that he had been planning an attack for over a year. The New York Times
New York Times
08-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
The Quiet Unraveling of the Man Who Almost Killed Trump
In 2022, Thomas Crooks was a soft-spoken community college student who made speeches like this one for class. In 2022, Thomas Crooks was a soft-spoken community college student who made speeches like this one for class. Less than two years later, he mounted a roof and fired eight bullets toward Donald J. Trump. Less than two years later, he mounted a roof and fired eight bullets toward Donald J. Trump. Photograph: Kristian Thacker for The New York Times. Supported by Thomas Crooks was acting strangely. Sometimes he danced around his bedroom late into the night. Other times, he talked to himself with his hands waving around. These unusual behaviors intensified last summer, after he graduated with high honors from a community college. He also visited a shooting range, grew out his thin brown hair and searched online for 'major depressive disorder' and 'depression crisis.' His father noticed the shift — mental health problems ran in the family. On the afternoon of July 13, Mr. Crooks told his parents he was heading to the range and left home with a rifle. Hours later, he mounted a roof at a presidential campaign rally in western Pennsylvania and tried to assassinate Donald J. Trump. That scene has been etched into American history. After a bullet grazed Mr. Trump's ear, he lifted his blood-streaked face, pumped his fist and shouted the words: 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' Mr. Trump has said that God saved him in order to save America, and the White House recently unveiled a statue in the Oval Office commemorating the moment. The near miss revealed alarming security lapses that allowed an amateur marksman barely out of his teens to fire at a former president less than 500 feet away. And it galvanized support for Mr. Trump, inspiring voters who saw him as a righteous hero triumphing in the face of smear campaigns, relentless prosecutions and even an attempt on his life. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Haunting new emails show very different side to Thomas Crooks, the gunman who shot Trump at Pennsylvania rally
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old Pennsylvanian who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump in July, was in the process of designing a bomb in the months leading up to the shooting. Crooks, 20, killed two and shot Trump in the ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. As part of the FBI investigation into Crooks - who top officials Kash Patel and Dan Bongino have said was not part of a foreign plot - has revealed views inside the mind of the would-be assassin. At the time, Crooks was working on applications to a four-year college from community college to get a degree in engineering. However, using an encrypted email account, he also ordered over two gallons of nitromethane from online retailer Hyperfuels, CBS News reported. An email obtained shows Crooks, 12 days after his order, wondering why it hadn't shipped. 'Hello, my name is Thomas. I placed an order on your website on January 19. I have not received any updates of the order shipping out yet and I was wondering if you still have it and when I can expect it to come,' he wrote on January 31, 2024 at 7:44am. The feds were able to access his email because he sent it from an account tied to Community College of Allegheny County where he attended. However, of the hundreds of emails from his college account that have been viewed, very little else reveals much about the shooting but does give a look at the life Crooks was living. One missive shows Crooks emailing his professor asking if he can only bring two or three adults to a presentation that asked him to bring five. 'I do not have access to any other adults' aside from his parents and his sister, he writes. Otherwise, Crooks is painted as an A-level student who professes his enjoyment for the fall season and stayed in contact with his professors. 'It's sad that he had so much promise and he chose to do this. It's just very difficult to understand where it came from,' Patricia Thompson, one of his professors, said. Online theories swirled that Crooks was part of a large foreign-influenced plot to take out the Republican before the 2024 presidential election, which he went on to win. Crooks was on top of a nearby building a few hundred feet from where Trump was speaking that day, crouched down with an AR-15 rifle. He was able to fire eight rounds in Trump's direction less than 150 yards from where the former president was speaking. Crooks was killed by counter snipers who took him out before he was able to reap more damage at the Trump rally. A series of failures by the U.S. Secret Service ultimately allowed would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks to successfully land a shot in Donald Trump 's right ear, a new report reveals. One troubling finding from the bipartisan Senate investigation was how technical issues downed Secret Service drones during the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The agent responsible for overseeing the Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) called a toll free 888 tech support hotline 'to start troubleshooting with the company.' There were no backups. It took several hours to get the drones back up and running – and the agent responsible for the drone operations only had three months of experience with the equipment. The report released on Wednesday concluded that the failures ahead of the rally were 'foreseeable, preventable, and directly related to the events resulting in the assassination attempt that day.'
