By Sean O'Driscoll
Senior Crime and Courts Reporter
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The man who tried to kill Donald Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was a loner with a passion for history, former classmates have said.
One former classmate recalled the 20-year-old would-be assassin used to wear hunting kit and camouflage gear to school, and sat alone in the cafeteria before class.
Trump was grazed in the ear while another man was shot dead and two were critically injured at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service shot Crooks dead seconds later.
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The shooter has been identified as a nursing home kitchen worker from Bethel Park, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, about 43 miles from the site of the attempted assassination.
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Bethel Park has about 30,000 residents. Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, was speaking at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon when the gunman fired multiple rounds from a roof overlooking the rally.
The former president was then seen grabbing his right ear, with blood coming down his face, before diving for cover. The Secret Service ran to protect him as he got to his feet. Crooks was shot and killed by the Secret Service.
Newsweek sought email comment from the Trump campaign on Monday.
CBS's Pittsburgh station, KDKA, interviewed Jameson Myers, a member of the school's varsity rifle team, who said that Crooks had tried out for the team in his first year at the high school but did not qualify.
Myers said Crooks was a "nice kid who never talked poorly of anyone."
"I'd never have thought him capable of anything I've seen him do in the last few days," Meyers said.
Another classmate, Summer Barkley, said that Crooks wasn't popular but did have friends. She said she didn't see anything that would make her believe he was capable of carrying out Saturday's attack.
Barkley later told the BBC that Crooks had a passion for history.
Mark Sigafoos, who graduated with Crooks, told CBS that he was "definitely nerdy for sure," but "never gave off that he was creepy or like a school shooter."
"He seemed like he wouldn't hurt a fly," Sigafoos said.
Another former classmate, Jason Koehler, said Crooks was bullied for his nerdy appearance and wore camo or hunting outfits to class. He recalled that Crooks was a loner would who sit in the cafeteria in isolation before class. He also remembered that Crooks wore a COVID mask long after they were required.
The Community College of Allegheny County confirmed to CBS that Crooks graduated in May 2024 with a degree in Engineering Science.
He then worked at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center as a dietary aide.
He had been a member of the Clairton Sportsmen's Club in Clairton, Pennsylvania for at least a year before the shooting.
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