The shooter, who opened fire on former United States President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, attempted to join the school's rifle team but was rejected.
According to Thomas Matthew Crooks's former classmates, he was rejected due to his "bad shot". The FBI had identified the 20-year-old as the man behind the assassination bid on Trump at the rally held in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The suspect had used his father's AR-15 style rifle to shoot at the rally. Crooks had climbed to the rooftop of a nearby building to take aim at Trump. Reportedly, Trump's rally site was about 444 feet from the rooftop where the shooter was shot dead by the Secret Service.
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Crooks's school friend Jameson Myers, while speaking with ABC News, said that he was not asked to come back after a "pre-season" session.
"He didn't just not make the team; he was asked not to come back because of how bad of a shot he was; it was considered dangerous," said Myers.
Another member of the team told ABC News that there was a general view that Crooks was not really fit for the rifle team.
There are also no records of Crooks being on the rifle team as well. However, he was part of a local shooting club called Clairton Sportsmen's Club.
Crooks, who lived in Bethel Park, was widely known as a 'bright but quiet person'. While checking his social media profile too, the FBI officials could not find any threatening language. He had graduated from a local high school two years ago and had shown immense interest in building computers and playing games. However, there were rumours that he was bullied in school.
Meanwhile, the officials were not yet able to identify the motive behind the attack. The FBI agents believe that he carried out the act alone. "At present, we have not identified an ideology associated with the subject, but I want to remind everyone that we're still very early in this investigation," said Pittsburgh FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek.
