Trump shooter's parents are licensed professional counselors, records show
BETHEL PARK, Pa. (TND) — The parents of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump on Saturday, are licensed professional counselors, according to Pennsylvania records.
Matthew and Mary Crooks received their social work licenses in 2002. Records show the most recent time they renewed them was last year.
Thomas Crooks, 20, shot at Trump during a rally in Butler, Pa., according to the FBI. He worked at a nursing home kitchen after graduating from the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) this year, NPR reported. The nursing home’s administrator told the outlet he passed his background check and worked without raising any “concern.”
Thomas Crooks was also part of Clairton Sportsmen's Club, a shooting range roughly 9 miles away from his hometown of Bethel Park, Pa., according to NPR.
Obviously, the Club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence that occurred yesterday,” Robert Bootay, the range’s legal counsel, told the outlet.CCAC said it was surprised by the assassination attempt.
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"Like all Americans, we are shocked and saddened by the horrific turn of events that took place in Butler, Pa., on Saturday,” the college noted, according to NPR.
Thomas Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School, where he was quieter than other students, Allegheny County Councilor Dan Grzybek told the WESA radio station. The lawmaker's district includes Bethel Park.
From background I've gotten from people that I know that have gone to school with him, he was your typical average kid — more on the quiet side, relatively intelligent,” Grzybek said.Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy noted that attacking people exercising their First Amendment rights is an assault on all Americans’ rights.
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“These people that were at the rally were involved in and exercised the most basic fundamental rights that we cherish as Americans: to assemble and to have free speech,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“Any attack on anyone’s rights in that category is an attack on all of our rights, and we’re never going to enjoy that peace and order that we want when this kind of thing continues to happen," Dandoy added.
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.
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