On July 13, 2024, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old named Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to kill former President Donald Trump. Crooks fired eight shots from a high spot outside the venue while Trump was speaking. Trump was hurt, with blood coming from his right ear, but he survived. Sadly, one person at the rally was killed, and two others were severely injured. The FBI looked into this as a possible act of domestic terrorism, but it’s still unclear what the shooter’s exact motive was.
Crook’s political background is hard to pinpoint. He was a registered Republican, but he donated to Biden in 2021. His classmates note that he didn’t ever speak about politics, although one friend said Crooks had made fun of him for supporting Trump.
Unlike most politically motivated terrorists, the would-be assassin didn’t leave behind a manifesto. His search history revealed no red flags pointing to his motivation. So, what would cause a 20-year-old to attempt to assassinate a political candidate?
Jytte Klausen is a professor at Brandeis University who has spent 20 years studying terrorist groups and extreme violence. She has developed a method to understand the backgrounds of people who commit these acts and how they become radicalized.
Klausen has studied Crooks and believes that he didn’t try to kill former President Trump because of political reasons. Instead, the 20-year-old acted out a fantasy to get attention and become famous.
Klausen suggested Crooks wanted to become important and make a name for himself. She said that it doesn’t look like he was trying to influence the election from what’s known about his online searches.
Klausen explained that Crooks seemed to seek attention and fame. He wanted to make himself look important and show off what he could do. She noted that Crooks didn’t leave behind a plan or any organized elements. Klausen notes that this lack of a plan is more common among school shooters, who often give hints about their intentions before doing something.
Hints like an alleged post by Crooks on the gaming platform Steam, “July 13 will be my premiere. Watch as it unfolds.”
It’s not clear how much Crooks was into online gaming. Steam, a popular gaming site, confirmed he had an account there, and Discord, a messaging app for gamers, said he had an account but didn’t use it much.
Klausen explained that if someone spends a lot of time gaming online and has trouble telling it apart from real life, it can be a warning sign of problems ahead.
Klausen mentioned that young people who commit these kinds of acts often have gone through some trauma. Some classmates said Crooks was bullied in high school, but Bethel Park High School denied this. They called the bullying claims a “painful misconception” and said they have no record of such incidents.
However, the trauma may have started a little closer to home for Crooks.
A Wall Street Journal report mentioned that Crooks’ mother was blind, their home had a hoarding problem, and his parents didn’t notice when explosive materials were shipped to their house. This suggests there were issues in Crooks’ home life. Klausen said that while she doesn’t want to blame the parents too harshly, it’s hard to believe they didn’t notice dangerous materials delivered to their small house.
Authorities say that Crooks had explosives in his car, which was parked near the rally. They also found bomb-making materials at his home.
The car had several explosives, including an IED. While the exact number and types of explosives weren’t revealed, it was clear that there was more than one.
Klausen noted that Crooks making bombs is important because people who make bombs usually want to carry out more attacks and avoid getting killed. She said it’s unclear if Crooks thought he would survive after shooting Trump.
Klausen explained that some shooters plan their attacks very carefully but don’t think clearly about what might happen afterward. Crooks might have imagined he could escape and keep doing things like this, maybe even dreaming of people searching for him. She said Crooks could have become a mass killer, but Secret Service snipers stopped that from happening.
Was Crooks acting out a wild fantasy, or did he have political reasons for targeting Trump? The only person who could answer these questions is no longer here. This leaves experts grappling with theories and mysteries, trying to piece together the full story.
In the end, we may never know.
