Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, was known to his former classmates as someone with a deep disdain for politicians and a knack for arrogance in discussions, particularly about politics. According to Vincent Taormina, a former classmate, Crooks mocked him for supporting Trump and seemed to have a general dislike for all political figures. Despite having a small circle of friends and making troubling threats in school, Crooks managed to keep his violent intentions hidden until he struck at a Trump rally, leaving a trail of questions about how his red flags were overlooked.
Former classmate of would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks claims that the 20-year-old gunman had a general contempt for mainstream politicians on both sides of the political spectrum and had once made fun of him for supporting former President Donald Trump.
“I brought up the fact that I’m Hispanic and, you know, I’m for Trump. And he said, ‘Well, you’re Hispanic, so shouldn’t you hate Trump?'” Vincent Taormina stated on Tuesday to Fox News Digital. “No. He’s great. He was a great president. He called me stupid – or insinuated that I was stupid.”
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He claimed that it occurred during a debate in an English class during the 2016 election. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Trump, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were still in the running reports Fox News.
“He just did not like politicians, especially with the choices that we had,” Taormina said. “He did not like our politicians.”
Taormina noted that Crooks was normally silent, except a few subjects, like math and politics, about which he was quite enthusiastic. He went on to say that he might be “smug [and] arrogant” on certain matters.
“He did not like our politicians.”
“He would just talk, talk and act like he knew everything, especially politics related, and he would say it in a tone that was like, ‘I’m better than you,’ in a type of way,” he said.
Additionally, he refrained from claiming that Crooks was a total recluse. He said that he had a small but worrying set of friends.
“They were definitely the type, and they did, make threats to shoot up our school,” he said.
He claimed he lacked concrete evidence, despite the suspicions of his classmates and himself that Crooks was the source of the threat. However, the would-be killer waited a few days to return to school after receiving the threat.
Authorities said that Crooks, 20, killed Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old father of two, and gravely injured James Copenhaver, 74, and David Dutch, 57. He gave the previous president a right-eye strike.
Authorities reported that Crooks was “neutralized” at the scene by Secret Service counter-snipers. Pictures appear to show him dead on a rooftop not far from Trump’s speech location—less than 150 yards away.
Taormina stated that Crooks’ behavior altered once the stories started circulating. He became more reserved and stopped bringing up politics with others.
However, Taormina said, he had enough pals for someone to have noticed a warning sign along the way.
“Everybody, anybody who knew him-knew him, should have seen something,” he said. “They should have known something was up, and I know it’s kind of easy to hide, but people are going to get their affairs in order before they do something that’s bold and this drastic, and nobody saw it? And why?”
According to the authorities, Crooks had no past criminal activity and no known mental health conditions. His father lawfully bought the murder weapon in 2013.
The FBI is questioning numerous witnesses and examining his laptop, smartphone, and weapon as part of an ongoing federal investigation into his intentions and possible assistance.
The suspect’s home and car were searched through Sunday night. Additionally, the bureau reported that as of Monday afternoon, the FBI had spoken with close to 100 witnesses, including law enforcement personnel.
The FBI is asking anyone with knowledge of this case to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips at http://tips.fbi.gov.
Explore exclusive GGI coverage of Donald Trump’s assassination attempt.
One Response
This young assassin reminds me of the themes found in Robert Ludlum’s thriller novels, particularly ‘The Bourne Identity.’ Don’t you think?