Attempted Trump assassin trained at DHS agents gun range

More information has come to light about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

More specifically, the indication that the would-be assassin is believed to have trained at a gun range used to train Department of Homeland Security officials.

Thomas Crooks, who attempted to assassinate the former president, had been practicing at his favorite gun range just two months before he opened fire at the event. The DHS had a training session there the day before, as The New York Post reported.

The office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) got a logbook from the Clairton Sportsmen's Club in Pennsylvania, which shows that 20-year-old Crooks went there on May 22 at about 3:10 p.m. to practice rifle shooting alone.

More Training

Club records reveal that DHS held a "police training" session at the range the next day at noon, with a minimum of three participants.

For the 150-yard shot that Crooks would fire at Trump on July 13, wounding the former president and killing a bystander, there is more than enough room at Clairton's rifle range, which is 200 yards long.

It is not apparent if the May 23 visit was typical or if DHS frequently conducted training there.

However, Crooks was a regular at the range, making hundreds of visits for practice since his August 2023 arrival.

Document Revelations

According to Grassley's office, Crooks' use of the club's rifle range exhibited "intense preparation" for his shot at Trump, as he spent 80% of his time there across at least 43 visits.

“He focused almost exclusively on the rifle range throughout 2024,” the senator’s office said in a statement.

Averaging three to six visits every month, Crooks never brought a friend and attended on Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day during his membership.

The day before he opened fire on Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, with an AR-15 rifle, was his last visit at 2:45 p.m. on July 12. Snipers from the Secret Service fired and killed Crooks.