Ex-Classmate: Shooter Confronted Me Over Trump Support

(DailyVantage.com) – More details have emerged on the personality of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump, with a former classmate saying that the often-taciturn Crooks was especially passionate about politics and expressed disgust with all politicians across the political aisle.

“Thomas was a quiet kid, unless there was something that he was passionate about, politics being one of them,” related Vincent Taormina, who went to school with Crooks. Taormina said that on these issues, Crooks’ personality would take a 180-degree turn, and he would often act “smug and arrogant”.

Taormina recounted how Crooks insinuated that the former was stupid when Taormina said that he supported Trump and thought him to be a great president. Taormina also said that when talking about politics, Crooks had the tendency to talk over people “like he knew everything” and carry a tone that implied that “’I’m better than you,’ in a type of way.”

The investigation into Crooks and his failed shooting of the former chief executive is still underway. While some of his profile is similar to other suspects who have committed mass shootings and political violence, sources say that so far, there has been no indication that he was passionate about any particular political or social movement – which have been the primary motivators of people who perpetuate political violence.

Investigators also discovered that Crooks had made extensive research into the location of Trump’s Pennsylvania rally, where he failed to kill the former president, killing a father of two, Corey Comperatore instead, and critically injuring two others. He also supposedly did research on President Joe Biden, the location of the Democratic National Convention, and had pictures of prominent personalities from both the Republican and Democratic parties. Law enforcement theorize that Crooks picked Trump’s Pennsylvania campaign sortie as the more convenient target as it was only an hour’s drive away from his home in Pittsburgh.