The 20-year-old who shot and injured former President Donald Trump was nicknamed “the school shooter” in high school and teased over his bad hygiene, a classmate said.
While attending his first year at Bethel Park High School, would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks became “an easy target” for bullies who would pick on the often lonely teen, Julianna Grooms, 19, told the New York Times.
“Those other kids would always say, ‘Hey, look at the school shooter over there!’” Grooms recalled.
“They would tease him about his poor hygiene, his body odor. He was an easy target,” she added.
Grooms said Crooks definitely stood out as a freshman, wearing wide-legged jeans and SpongeBob SquarePants T-shirts.
Like others who knew him at the time, Grooms said Crooks liked to keep to himself and would want to avoid the spotlight whenever possible.
“He didn’t want attention, good or negative,” she said.
Grooms’ description echoes that of fellow classmate Jason Kohler, who told KDKA that Crooks was “relentlessly” bullied in high school.
New video that has emerged — ostensibly from a high school class — shows a prankster pulling at Crooks’ pants leg, as the teen continually tells them to “stop,” eventually saying, “Stop, you’re pulling my leg,” while the person behind the camera laughs.
Others, however, have disputed the claim, including former Bethel Park school counselor Jim Knapp, who did not recall any instances of Crooks being bullied or receiving cruel nicknames.
After being bullied, Crooks abandoned his SpongeBob shirts for more neutral clothes, sometimes opting to wear camouflage or hunting outfits.
Grooms said the new outfits didn’t stand out as much in a region where hunting is so popular that the school had a rifle club, which Crooks tried out for but was rejected for being a “comically bad” shot, former classmates told The Post.
