Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin who targeted former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, had a troubling background of research and preparation leading up to the attack. Crooks, 20, had extensively researched mass shooters, including Ethan Crumbley, the Oxford High School shooter. He even took a screenshot from a livestream of Trump’s speech just moments before opening fire, indicating that the rally’s proximity to his home in Pennsylvania was a matter of convenience rather than an ideological target.
Crooks’s search history included how to build explosives, and investigators found some explosives at his home, along with a detonator beside his body after he was shot by a sniper. His research also involved President Biden and the Democratic National Convention, suggesting his intent was to create a high-profile massacre rather than targeting a specific ideology.
Before the shooting, Crooks visited the rally location and bought ammunition from a local gun store. He used an AR-15 rifle owned by his father, who had assumed his son was going to a shooting range. Despite Crooks’s quiet demeanor and lack of clear political affiliations, his preparation included explosive devices, a bullet-proof vest, and additional firearms. Investigators also discovered 14 firearms and more explosives at his family home, alongside a second phone, a laptop, and a hard drive.
