Trump shooter was member of local gun club, practiced shooting day before assassination attempt, records show

Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a rally last month, was a member of a local gun club where he practiced shooting just one day before trying to kill the former president, according to records from Senator Chuck Grassley’s office. 

The records, obtained by Fox News Digital, show Crooks became a member of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club on August 10, 2023. 

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Crooks visited the range at least 43 times. Nearly half of those visits were in the first four months after he obtained membership, according to the records. He visited on Halloween, Christmas Day, and Valentine’s Day. The records show Crooks focused more on the rifle range rather than the pistol range.

Crooks attended target practice around three to six times per month in 2024. On one of these visits – May 23, 2024 – the range was also used by the Department of Homeland Security for “police training.” 

Crooks made his last visit the afternoon of Friday, July 12, 2024 – just one day before the assassination attempt on Trump during the former president’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.