Troubled past of Trump attacker: FBI revisits high school threats
19 July 2024 11:09
"Daily Mail" reveals that the attacker who fired at Donald Trump had threatened a shooting at his high school when he was only 15 years old. At that time, the incident was not taken seriously. The FBI is currently investigating the case.
On Thursday, federal officers met with Thomas Crooks' former classmate, Vincent Taormina. Authorities questioned him about the attacker's "hatred" of politicians and threats that Crooks allegedly made as a freshman at Bethel Park High School.
In an interview with the "Daily Mail," Taormina stated, "Students had this anonymous place where we could post things or report someone on our school computers, and he posted something like: 'Don't come to school tomorrow,' and something else that sounded like he had planted bombs in the bathrooms and cafeteria."
"Half of us just didn’t come to school the next day – I didn’t. But it wasn’t taken seriously," recounted Crooks' former classmate.
"We were all texting each other, and pretty soon it came out that it was Thomas and his group of friends threatening to shoot up the school," added Taormina.
Classmates remember him as an "outcast"
Media reached out to Thomas Crooks' schoolmates. Students described him as an "outcast" who was "bullied every day." "He was the kid who was always alone, always bullied, every single day," said former classmate Jason Kohler.
"He was an outcast. I mean, he sat by himself during lunch at school. You know how kids are these days. Honestly, it's really sad. I don’t want to say that this provoked him, but you never know," added Kohler.
ABC News also contacted individuals who attended Bethel Park High School with Crooks. Former classmates described him as a "quiet" student who didn’t have many friends. "One thing I knew for sure, he was brilliant," said a student who sat behind Crooks in class.
