Trump shooter was a straight-A student with a clean disciplinary history, except for chewing gum, school records show

A screen grab from a video shows former President Donald Trump clasping his right ear after gunshots were fired during a rally.

The 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania Saturday had good grades and barely any disciplinary issues in school, records obtained by B-17 show.

Thomas Crooks’ clean academic record does nothing to shed light on a possible motive for shooting at the former president. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper shortly after firing shots that hit Trump and three rallygoers and killed one of them, Corey Comperatore.

Crooks was a straight-A student during his senior year at Bethel Park High School, graduating with a 4.87 grade point average, according to his academic records, which B-17 obtained through a public-records request. He took four Advanced Placement classes that year — calculus AB, macroeconomics, statistics, and US government and politics — in addition to courses in English, programming, personal finance, and business.

The only disciplinary infractions in Crooks’ Bethel Park School District records show he was caught chewing gum in class twice in middle school and reported to the wrong location to serve his lunchtime detention.

Teachers noted in the records that Crooks “actively participates” and was “a pleasure to have in class.”

Apart from a period in freshman year when he had a few Bs and a C in Spanish, he appears to have been a high-achieving student. While he had some struggles with math as a young child, by sixth grade, his standardized test scores were in the 97th percentile nationally, the records show.

The records don’t appear to contain any details of extracurricular activities. Crooks reportedly tried and failed to make his school’s rifle team. Fellow students have told news outlets that he was bullied.

Federal authorities have found little evidence on Crooks’ electronic devices that would point to a motive. He reportedly searched for photos of Trump, President Joe Biden, and other prominent figures. He was a registered Republican but also gave to a progressive political group.