FBI files reveal Trump shooter Thomas Crooks was emotionless since birth — and once built a Glock using a toaster oven

A 20-year-old Pennsylvania gunman was quiet from birth before opening fire at a presidential campaign event, according to newly released federal interview documents.

Thomas Matthew Crooks was 20 years old and lived in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, when he carried out the July 13, 2024, shooting in Butler.

The gunman was born without making a sound on Sept. 20, 2003, FBI interview summaries show.

That silence remained a defining trait until his death, federal records state.

Crooks died in a hail of Secret Service gunfire seconds after a fired round missed former President Donald Trump by a hairsbreadth, according to the documents.

“When Thomas was born he did not scream and he was always quiet from that point on,” his father, Matthew Crooks, told federal agents.

The records were provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley as part of an ongoing congressional inquiry into the Butler shooting, according to the files.

Federal agents conducted extensive interviews with the gunman’s father following the assassination attempt, the records show.

The father told investigators that he “never really had a father/son bond” with his son, according to interview notes.

The younger Crooks rarely expressed strong emotions, hardly laughed and was very difficult to read, his father told federal agents.

The boy was quiet and intelligent, Matthew Crooks told investigators.

He was also obsessed with shooting, his father said.

During elementary school, the boy occasionally acted out in class because “he was bored,” according to federal records.

In one instance, he damaged a classroom desk and other school property in a bid for attention, his father told investigators.

By middle school, Matthew Crooks and his wife, Mary, believed their son had ADHD, the files show.

Both parents also grew concerned that he had fallen in with a “bad” group of children for a brief period, his father told federal authorities.

Domestic friction occasionally flared over his dispassionate demeanor, according to interview notes.

Matthew Crooks recalled an argument at home after his son dumped an entire container of fish food into his sister’s betta tank, federal files show.

The father said he “pushed” his son to the point that the boy started crying, according to the documents.

He told agents he was simply trying to elicit some kind of an emotional reaction from the boy.

A noticeable behavioral shift occurred between the boy’s freshman and sophomore years of high school, according to his father.

The younger Crooks became “a little more quiet and reserved” during that period, Matthew Crooks told investigators.

He also developed “issues with speaking to his teachers,” federal notes state.

The father reported frequently catching his son talking to himself at home, according to the records.

That quirk “became more noticeable over the years,” Matthew Crooks told federal agents.

The father lamented that demanding work schedules prevented him from driving his son to extracurricular activities, the records indicate.

Matthew Crooks expressed sadness over those missed trips, telling agents they might have provided a positive social outlet for his lone-wolf son.

The gunman threw himself into college preparation coursework during high school, his father told authorities.

Crooks took those classes because he “feared he may not get into college,” according to interview notes.

“He was putting a lot of pressure on himself,” Matthew Crooks told investigators.

The youth could have been a promising student despite lacking social graces and “street smarts,” his father said.

Without studying, the high schooler scored 1400 on his initial attempt at the SAT, according to the files.

He later improved his performance to a 1500 on the exam, the documents state.

Over the years, the son expressed vague interests in various career paths, his father told agents.

He showed little, if any, real commitment to any of those fields, Matthew Crooks said.

“At one point, Thomas wanted to join the military to work in nuclear submarines, but this was more of just an idea as Thomas thought it would be ‘cool,’” according to FBI notes from an interview with the gunman’s father.

The younger Crooks never appeared to have a romantic partner, according to federal records.

He “never showed interest in girls,” Matthew Crooks told agents.

The son also “repeatedly denied” being gay over the years, according to the interview notes.

Crooks began developing an intense interest in firearms during his teenage years, federal documents show.

He showed little interest in a traditional outdoorsman lifestyle, his father told investigators.

The son briefly explored an interest in hunting, but his father said he could never envision the boy actually killing an animal.

Crooks also “hated” fishing, his father said.

Conversations between father and son during this era were typically brief and focused on firearms, according to federal records.

In one conversation, the youth asked if “he would have to do a background check” to buy his father’s Glock, interview notes state.

Matthew Crooks told investigators he considered that inquiry odd.

The son also asked if he could have his grandfather’s guns, according to the files.

Around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the younger Crooks began visiting a local gun club, federal documents state.

He was initially a “terrible” shot who “could not hit the paper [target],” Matthew Crooks told agents.

It took roughly four to five years of practice before he could reliably hit a paper target, the father estimated to investigators.

With sustained practice, the youth developed into a far more proficient marksman, according to the records.

He eventually brought home paper targets to show his father that he could hit marks placed more than 100 yards away, interview notes state.

When his father asked why he was shooting at such long distances, the son explained that “he wanted to see how far he could shoot with rudimentary sights.”

The marksman extended his effective shooting range after purchasing a prism sight, federal records state.

He became “very knowledgeable” about measuring and zeroing in on distant targets, his father told investigators.

The youth learned exactly how many clicks of the sight adjustment were required to alter the angle of aim, the father said.

As his interest in weaponry deepened, the son ordered high volumes of packages from Amazon, according to the documents.

The deliveries included “parts, tools and items to increase the capacity of his rifle,” Matthew Crooks told federal agents.

The shipments were addressed to the pseudonym “Bob Dole,” federal records show.

That practice began after fraudulent BetMGM charges hit the father’s Citizens Bank checking account, interview notes state.

The son believed that using the former Republican presidential candidate’s name on deliveries would prevent accounts from being compromised, according to his father.

Matthew Crooks explained that packages under a pseudonym offered no protection because the bank account still carried his own name, the records state.

The youth dismissed that warning and continued ordering deliveries under assumed names, federal files show.

The son also instructed his father on how to utilize identity-masking digital tools, according to the documents.

He set his father up with CyberGhost VPN and the Bravenet Browser, the files show.

Crooks argued that those programs made their home network “less likely to be compromised by outside actors,” according to interview summaries.

The son maintained accounts with multiple encrypted, privacy-oriented email services, his father told investigators.

Those services included GMX and Mailfence, the records state.

During the same general period, the son acquired a 3D printer, Matthew Crooks told federal agents.

He once brought home a large, unidentified chemical container that he claimed was used to clean the printing device, according to the files.

The son also attempted to fabricate a functional handgun at home, federal records show.

“Using carbon fiber plastic, a dryer and a toaster oven, Thomas did once create a Glock 19,” Matthew Crooks told investigators.

The father fired a single test round from the plastic weapon and feared the frame would shatter, according to the documents.

Matthew Crooks said he forbade his son from ever firing the homemade firearm again, federal files show.

The youth also built a desktop gaming computer after rejecting his father’s recommendation to purchase a laptop, according to the records.

He constructed an automated security camera utilizing a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, his father told investigators.

When asked by federal agents who his son admired, Matthew Crooks stated the Marvel comic character Iron Man was the closest answer, according to the records.

An unnamed acquaintance whose identity was redacted in the files characterized Crooks as a “big history buff” who showed regular interest in political affairs.

The acquaintance noted that the youth discussed political developments in an outwardly “nonchalant” manner, according to the files.

The acquaintance said the youth “spoke often about Trump and Biden back when Trump initially got elected,” according to federal interview notes.

The shooter discussed what he “liked and disliked” regarding Trump and other candidates, and frequently brought up Marco Rubio, the subject said.

Matthew Crooks was interviewed by federal agents two days after the Butler shooting, records show.

He told investigators that his son never exhibited strong allegiance toward either major political party, according to the documents.

Father and son frequently engaged in “making fun of the politicians” they saw on the news, Matthew Crooks told agents.

“Thomas called himself a Republican,” Matthew Crooks said during his interview.

“Thomas did not like the welfare state and was against the ‘woke’ ideology but never really espoused the Republican ideology,” the father said.

His son preferred debating broad government policy rather than partisan platforms, according to interview notes.

The son expressed shock over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the father told agents.

The youth “did not believe the 2020 presidential election was rigged,” Matthew Crooks said.

Crooks had registered as a Republican voter, though his father believed that choice mirrored his own party affiliation, according to the documents.

The father told investigators he was personally more critical of Trump’s administration than his son ever was, federal records show.

Matthew Crooks said he spoke out critically and equally against both Trump and Biden during household discussions, according to the files.

The father told agents he was entirely surprised to learn his son had contributed $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project in 2021.

During his high school years, the son spent extensive time playing video games, according to federal records.

His gaming focused on Grand Prix racing, strategic military simulations and first-person shooter titles, Matthew Crooks told investigators.

He abandoned gaming after finishing high school, the records state.

He later expressed regret for devoting so much time to assembling a custom gaming computer, according to his father.

Crooks frequently watched war films and thrillers, his father told federal agents.

His favorite movies included “Saving Private Ryan,” “Full Metal Jacket,” “Heartbreak Ridge,” “Anger Management” and the “John Wick” franchise, the records state.

The son listened to rap and country music during elementary school before favoring country exclusively in high school, according to the files.

The father recalled occasionally seeing his son dancing alone in his bedroom with the door shut, federal documents show.

None of those habits or personal interests ever raised alarms within the household, Matthew Crooks told agents.

The family was left “racking” their brains to determine why the 20-year-old staged the assassination attempt, according to federal interview records.

One attendee died and two others were critically injured during the gunfire at the Butler fairgrounds, the records state.

Trump sustained a wound to his right ear from a fired round, according to the documents.

Matthew Crooks told agents he could identify no motive for why his son attempted to assassinate the former president, federal files show.

The gunman “never showed any signs indicating something was wrong,” his father told investigators.