A new video has revealed that Donald Trump gunman Thomas Crooks was taunted in high school.
The images come as former classmates said people often referred to him as a “school shooter,” and a former counselor revealed he was a “loner.”
Three days ago, Crooks, 20, nearly killed the former president, after grazing his ear with a bullet fired from an “AR-style” weapon at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
The would-be assassin was taken out by a Secret Service sniper, but not before injuring three people, including Trump, and killing a rally-goer.
Just years before his infamy as a political assassin, Crooks was a “loner” who had few friends at Bethel Park High School.
The video, shared with TMZ, showed his classmates bullying him during a lesson.
Crooks, sitting at his desk, repeatedly tells a classmate tugging at his pants to “stop.”
New video reveals Donald Trump gunman Thomas Crooks (pictured) was taunted in high school
Years before his infamy as a political assassin, Crooks (pictured) was a “loner” who had few friends at Bethel Park High School.
“Stop, you’re kidding me,” he is heard saying as the person filming him laughs.
Although the video appears to have been taken as a joke, those who knew him as a child said he was a lonely child who was bullied by people.
Her former classmate Julianna Grooms, 19, told the New York Times: “Kids were always like, ‘Hey, look at the school shooter over there!'”
“They made fun of him for his poor hygiene and body odor. He was an easy target.”
Jim Knapp, the gunman’s school counselor, told the newspaper: “He just wanted to be alone.”
Trump uttered the word “fight” to his supporters as blood splattered his face
“The guy turned around and got caught between the benches and got shot in the head. There was a lot of blood and he had brain matter,” the man told CBS News.
Attendees said they alerted the Secret Service to a man on the roof where the gunman was later killed.
Trump grabbed his right ear as the first shots rang out at 6:12 p.m.
“He was a very good student. He never got into trouble.”
It has since emerged through federal campaign finance records that the gunman was a registered Republican who had previously made a $15 donation to the liberal political action committee ActBlue on Jan. 20, 2021, the day of Biden’s inauguration.
According to public court records in Pennsylvania, Crooks had no prior criminal history and officials said they are still working to identify a motive behind the shooting.
Crooks had apparently graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, and received a $500 “star award” that year from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to a report by The Tribune-Review in Western Pennsylvania.
In an online recording of the 2022 graduation ceremony, he can be seen walking across the stage as the crowd applauds him, before briefly posing with a school official and accepting his diploma.
His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN on Saturday night that he was trying to figure out “what the hell was going on” but would “wait until he talks to the police” before speaking about his son.
Shortly after Trump was rushed away, the lifeless body of Thomas Matthew Crooks was seen on a rooftop surrounded by officers. His death was not confirmed until 7:24 p.m.
Yearbook images have emerged of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who opened fire on former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania.
The Trump campaign said the man was rushed to the hospital after the shooting but is doing “fine.”
Trump is seen surrounded by Secret Service agents moments after the shooting. He raised his fist to indicate he was OK in an image that has since gone viral around the world.
On Saturday, Crooks opened fire from a rooftop 150 yards from where Trump was on stage addressing thousands of fans in Butler at 6:15 p.m.
Footage from the moment shows Trump suddenly clutching his ear as blood streamed down his face after at least eight shots were fired in his direction.
The crowd began to scream and flee the scene as Secret Service agents surrounded the wounded former president.
But in a show of force, Trump emerged from the protection of the suited officers and raised his fist, shouting: “Fight, fight, fight,” before he was led away from the chaotic scenes and sent to the hospital.
Crooks had killed one member of the crowd and seriously wounded two others before being shot dead by the Secret Service.
The shooter died after firing from an “elevated position” outside the outdoor rally site, according to the Secret Service.
The footage shows at least four police officers surrounding the bloodied gunman and the AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle he used on the roof, while pointing their weapons at his body.
