Would-be Trump killer practiced 100-yard shot day before Pennsylvania assassination attempt, FBI documents show

Thomas Matthew Crooks became increasingly obsessed with guns and long-range shooting before he tried to assassinate Donald Trump on the campaign trail in July 2024, according to newly unclassified documents released by the FBI. Crooks, a 20-year-old engineering student, spent the day before he fired at Trump at the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club in Clairton, Pennsylvania, where he practiced shooting once a week on average, according to the federal files. He was a “terrible shot” at first, his father told investigators, according to documents cited by the New York Post , but he diligently practiced on his own and at shooting ranges. An employee at Keystone Shooting Center outside Pittsburgh described Crooks as “an odd duck” and “not someone they would want their daughter to spend time with,” federal investigators noted in the documents. A person at the Clairton gun club told investigators he remembered Crooks practicing a 100-yard shot the day before Trump’s speech in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Missing media or need the complete publisher report? Open NBC News ↗