Thomas Crooks
A 20-year-old from Pennsylvania whose attempt on a presidential candidate's life in 2024 violently disrupted American politics and shattered his own.
2003–2024 (age 21)·Attempted assassin of Donald Trump·Birthday: September 20·Generation Z
Biography
Thomas Matthew Crooks stepped into infamy on a July afternoon in 2024, when he opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Bethel Park resident, who was 20, managed to fire multiple shots, grazing former President Donald Trump and killing a bystander, before being neutralized by Secret Service snipers. In an instant, his obscure life became the subject of intense national scrutiny. An apparent loner who was registered to vote as a Republican, Crooks left behind a puzzle of motive, with investigators finding no clear manifesto or definitive ideological footprint. The attack, broadcast live, instantly reignited fierce debates about political violence, security failures, and the nation's fractured psyche. Crooks's story is a stark, tragic footnote of a polarized age, defined entirely by a single, devastating act.
Generation Z
1997–2012
Born into smartphones, social media, and school shootings. The most diverse generation in history. Pragmatic about money, fluid about identity, anxious about the climate. They do not remember a world before the internet.
Thomas was born in 2003, placing them squarely in the Generation Z. The events that shaped this generation — social media, climate anxiety, and a pandemic — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Thomas Was Born
The biggest hits of 2003
#1 Movie
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Best Picture
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
#1 TV Show
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Thomas's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
2003Born
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2008Started school
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2016Became a teenager
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2019Could drive
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2021Could vote
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2024Turned 21
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
Did You Know?
He was a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
He was registered as a Republican voter at the time of the attack.
He was killed by Secret Service counter-snipers after firing from a rooftop.
The shooting occurred at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.
“I am not going to be the last.”
