Northeast

Trump’s attempted assassin was a ‘loner,’ FBI says, as experts share telltale signs in others across America

Published

2 years ago

July 30, 2024

Press Room

Trump’s attempted assassin was a ‘loner,’ FBI says, as experts share telltale signs in others across America

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Ever since Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump on July 13, a picture has emerged of his social behaviors and possible mental state.

Some residents of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania — the small Pittsburgh suburb where Crooks lived with his parents — have described the shooter, 20, as a “loner” when speaking to local news outlets.

An evaluation of Crooks’ phone revealed that he had previously searched for symptoms of depressive disorder, according to reports.

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During a press conference call with reporters on Monday, Kevin Rojak, special agent in charge at the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, described Crooks as a “loner, as far as his association or any other activities related to his mental state.”

“His primary social circle appears to be limited to his immediate family, as we believe he had few friends and acquaintances throughout his life,” Rojak said.

Thomas Matthew Crooks is pictured in front of the Butler Fairgrounds in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 14, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Bethel Park School District; Getty Images)

Jason Kohler, who attended the same high school as Crooks, described the shooter to Fox News as an “outcast” who was always alone and was “bullied every day.”

Kohler told reporters that Crooks sat alone at lunchtime and was mocked for his clothing, which often included “hunting outfits.”

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Looking back, some classmates said, there were warning signs that Crooks could have had the capacity to plan the type of violent attack that left one man dead, wounded two people critically and injured a former president of the United States.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“The signs were there, and somebody definitely had to have known,” said Vincent Taormina, another former classmate of Crooks, in a previous interview with Fox News Digital.

When is a loner dangerous?

Jonathan Alpert, a Manhattan-based psychotherapist and author, pointed out that many loners are “absolutely harmless.”

“Being a loner in itself is not at all a dangerous trait,” he told Fox News Digital via email on Monday. “Withdrawing from society and extreme isolation can be indicative of depression, and that’s it.”

In some cases, however, people who are known to be loners can be “quite disturbed,” Alpert noted.

“Being a loner in itself is not at all a dangerous trait,” a psychologist said. “Withdrawing from society and extreme isolation can be indicative of depression.” (iStock)

“Any extreme behavior or erratic shifts in mood suggest emotional instability and should not be taken lightly, especially if the person has a history of hostility directed at others or society,” the expert said.

“Enter into the mix obsessions with violence, weapons or death — and you have an individual with potential to inflict harm on others.”

“Any extreme behavior or erratic shifts in mood suggest emotional instability and should not be taken lightly.”

Paranoid or delusional thinking can heighten the risk, Alpert warned, from these individuals — “especially if they think they have a special mission to carry out or if they think others are out to get them.”

“Everyone needs to feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves, and that they have people who care about them,” a mental health professional said. (iStock)

Dr. Judy Ho, associate professor and IRB chair at Pepperdine University in California, agreed that preferring to be alone is often just a personality trait, and not always a sign of potential danger.

“Sometimes people like to have some alone time to recharge, because being with people all the time is exhausting to them,” she said.

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“This is the traditional ‘introvert’ style, where they do like being with people in small doses and tend to feel more relaxed when they have ample alone time.”

Some people also tend to isolate due to depression, she noted, which often comes with signs of a down mood, loss of interest in activities they usually enjoy, irritability, low self-esteem or feelings of worthlessness, sleep and appetite changes, complaints of fatigue, and/or even suicidal ideation or self-harm attempts.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin of former President Donald J. Trump, graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

“A more dangerous ‘loner’ mentality would involve some specific elements, such as acting like they are harboring a big secret, expressing that they feel disenfranchised or lost, or having strong feelings of people ‘wronging’ them and expressing wishes that people should pay for these types of bad deeds,” Ho said.

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Other telltale signs might include lacking a specific purpose or drive, desiring power but feeling like they lack it, and spending hours studying conspiracy theories or getting into hobbies that have some sense of danger or riskiness to them, according to Ho.

Judy Gaman, CEO of Executive Medicine of Texas and a healthy living expert, reiterated the distinction.

“Everyone gets the blues from time to time, and depression can be linked to many things such as trauma or hormone fluctuations,” she told Fox News Digital.

“The loner type personality is anti-social, often angry at the world or a specific group of people, and may have a history of being bullied or abused as a child,” an expert said. (iStock)

“Transient mood changes are far different than the personality disorders that are seen in what we often term ‘loners,’” she went on.

“The loner type personality is anti-social, often angry at the world or a specific group of people, and may have a history of being bullied or abused as a child.”

5 tips for handling ‘loner’ behavior in others

If you suspect that someone you know is a loner and exhibits the warning signs shared above, there are steps you can take to help avoid escalation.

1. Carefully assess the situation

“Take note of the specific behaviors and patterns that lead you to believe he or she poses a threat,” Alpert suggested.

As part of this assessment, it’s important to avoid acting on assumptions, he added.

“The stigma against mental illness is still really prevalent, so sometimes knowing they are not judged for sharing their vulnerabilities will mean everything to them,” an expert said. (Bethel Park School District; iStock)

“All too often, people are quick to conclude, erroneously, that someone is prone to certain behaviors simply based on how they look — for example, not everyone dressed in black is potentially a school shooter,” Alpert said.

2. Have a sit-down without judgment

The best way to begin, according to Ho, is to share observations of some concerning behaviors without interpreting what those behaviors might mean.

“Express that you are concerned about the person and ask what’s going on, and allow silence so they can fill the space and share their thoughts,” she advised.

3. Offer help

“Once they’ve shared, ask what you can do to help, rather than assuming what you should do, or what you might want, because it can be different than what they really want,” Ho recommended.

Consider volunteering to go with the person to talk to a mental health professional or other trusted individuals if they are open to that, the doctor suggested.

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“The stigma against mental illness is still really prevalent, so sometimes knowing they are not judged for sharing their vulnerabilities will mean everything to them,” Ho added.

4. Know when to contact authorities

If you truly suspect that someone poses a danger to others, it’s best to avoid direct confrontation with the person, Alpert said.

If you suspect that someone you know is a loner and exhibits the warning signs shared above, there are steps you can take to help avoid escalation, experts say. (iStock)

“You don’t want to set them off,” the expert warned. “Instead, contact the authorities with your concerns.”

Teachers, parents and health care providers should all be paying extra attention to mental health warning signs, added Gaman.

5. See something, say something

“We often don’t want to intrude or violate someone’s privacy, but by saying something when you see something concerning — whether to the person directly and/or to law enforcement — you can possibly save their lives as well as those of others,” Ho said.

“Don’t underestimate what you can do to help someone who is suffering. Just lending a helping ear is often enough for them to step back and see the big picture, and find a reason for hope and to continue on.”

“By saying something when you see something concerning … you can possibly save their lives as well as those of others.”

If Crooks’ isolation was a factor in his decision to commit the attempted assassination on July 13, that highlights the importance of social support for mental health, experts agree.

“Community is important to all people,” Ho told Fox News Digital.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/health

“Everyone needs to feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves, and that they have people who care about them,” she went on.

“Even if it is just a very small group of friends, it’s important for every human being to feel like they have a few trusted individuals they can rely on.”

Audrey Conklin and Christina Coulter, both of Fox News Digital, contributed reporting.

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Maine

Maine needs to change its work zone signage | Opinion

Published

1 hour ago

March 13, 2026

Press Room

Maine needs to change its work zone signage | Opinion

Dan Petersen lives in Augusta.

In the recent past I have had the occasion to drive north on I-295, then I-95 several times from Portland to Augusta, most recently in the early evening about 8 to 9. North of Portland, I encountered a posted work zone with a stated speed limit of 45 mph, with not one but two flashing signs also announcing the work zone.

On the way through the work zone, the road shoulders were narrowed considerably by Jersey barriers, but there were no lane changes, no work lights and no perceivable work going on.

As I approached Augusta, some 45 minutes later, a sign indicated a work zone with a speed limit reduced to 55 mph. This time, there was no change in the lanes of travel — all barriers and barrels were pulled back off the shoulders of the road to allow free use of the breakdown lane, if necessary. There were no work lights, no work activity, and all equipment was silently positioned at a distance from the highway and situated on or near entrance and exit ramps.

These events, and others similar, remind me of an incident that occurred to me on an interstate highway in New Hampshire. I was headed south on I-89, having recently crossed the Vermont state line. I saw a work zone sign reducing the speed to 45 mph.

In the next several hundred feet there were two barrels near the edge of the pavement, at a comfortable distance from the travel lane. That was it. No evidence of any construction area, no workers, no equipment, no Jersey barriers or other barrels, cones or such things. I slowed, but with nothing else in sight, accelerated again. Police stopped me. Trying not to be argumentative, I asked where was/is the work zone/speed zone. In the end, I was let off with a warning.

In the latter case, the barrels and sign were likely forgotten. I find it hard to believe someone set those up, then left for the day. Similarly, why is the speed limit in Augusta on I-95 at the Route 202 underpass reduced to 55 mph, especially when nobody is around? Neither travel lane was impeded, and there was a full breakdown lane through the entire area. In the first case stated above, and less concerning because of the narrowing of the road shoulder, why were there two flashing lights?

It has been my experience that cars speed through work zones at times when no workers are around, and there are no lane shifts or narrowing of the road to be concerned about. By insisting on reduced speed when no danger is present, the Maine Department of Transportation “cries wolf” when it should save such things for instances where it really matters. Travelers keep up their speed because they see nothing has changed from the usual.

How about a change in MDOT policy? Reduce the speed only in cases where the road narrows or the lanes shift. And save the flashing signs for those times when workers are present, and use them to announce that workers are present only when they are, in fact, present. Then the public will know that, at that particular time, it is important to slow down.

I believe that with a little thought, the MDOT can improve things at construction sites for the traveling public, and for themselves. Example: At the beginning of the construction of the overpasses at that same I-95 intersection with Route 202 in Augusta, the entrance ramp onto I-95 north was, essentially, an amateur drag race.

The entrance ramp was placed at a 45-degree angle to the highway. But instead of an acceleration lane there was a stop sign. Anybody entering the highway at that point had to stop, crane their neck hard to see traffic over their left shoulder (side mirror was not helpful at 45 degrees), and then accelerate from a dead stop to 55 mph to keep from getting run over by any northbound traffic.

At some point MDOT must have either heard complaints, or realized this safety issue, and put in a short, but needed, acceleration lane, and a sign warning the northbound traffic of those trying to get on. I just wish it had done that from the beginning.

So, I suggest that MDOT change its signage policy to make sense. Let’s continue that thought by allowing free flow of traffic in work zones when appropriate, and notify the public with flashing lights when — and only when — workers are present.

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Massachusetts

With fewer students and higher costs, many Massachusetts districts weigh school closures and mergers – The Boston Globe

Published

1 hour ago

March 13, 2026

Press Room

With fewer students and higher costs, many Massachusetts districts weigh school closures and mergers – The Boston Globe

The impending shutdowns — a trend that is expected to continue in the coming years — add to more than three dozen public schools that have closed or consolidated since the pandemic disrupted classroom learning. That list includes shuttered elementary schools in Cambridge, North Middlesex, and Wellesley, and approximately nine charter schools.

District leaders have pursued the closures and mergers to balance operating budgets amid declining enrollment and rising costs for special education, transportation, utilities, and other expenses, or to curb spending on replacing antiquated school buildings as construction costs have soared.

The efforts have sparked scores of protests from parents, educators, and other community members, who worry about losing close-knit communities and whether districts will be short on space if enrollment rebounds.

In Acton, Molly Sparrow will be constantly reminded of the Conant School’s closure long after the final bell rings in June. The school is across the street from her home, and her children, who attend the second and fourth grades there, will be reassigned to other schools under a plan to address declining enrollment.

“It was a very tough pill to swallow for me and my kids,” Sparrow said, but added that they have now “gone through the stages of grief” and are focused on building something positive for next year.

The consolidation and closures come as the state’s public school enrollment hit a 30-year low this year. The shrinking student population, which intensified during the pandemic and then again amid President Trump’s recent crackdown on immigration, has resulted in a growing number of empty classroom seats.

Just how much extra space is there? A recent report by the Massachusetts School Building Authority found half of the nearly 1,600 schools assessed last year operated at less than 80 percent capacity — more than twice the rate in 2010 — resulting in approximately 275,000 extra seats.

The MSBA anticipates more schools will close and merge in the coming years, noting it is working with a dozen districts, including Scituate, Westford, and Ipswich, on potential school construction proposals that could involve consolidating two or more schools. Some projects, such as one in Wilmington, have already received voter approval.

Many of those proposed mergers involve small elementary schools erected decades ago, which are often plagued with a variety of problems, such as outdated heating and electrical systems and undersized classrooms, or lack basic amenities like cafeterias or gymnasiums.

Swampscott, for instance, replaced three small elementary schools in 2024 with a new building that opened with more than 700 students.

But the promise of new buildings isn’t always enough to entice support for mergers, with voters rejecting such projects in West Bridgewater in February and Hamilton-Wenham in September.

Devotion to a cherished school can also motivate voters to approve hefty property tax hikes for operating budgets to avoid a closure, such as Belmont’s approval of an $8.4 million tax override in 2024 that saved one of its elementary schools.

So far, the more than three dozen schools that have closed or merged since the pandemic disrupted classroom learning have generated a small reduction in public schools statewide — about 2 percent, according to a Globe review of state data. Just over 1,800 schools are operating this year.

The downsizing is nevertheless amounting to the most active period since districts grappled with the financial fallout from the Great Recession about two decades ago, although at a somewhat smaller scale, the Globe review found.

The analysis relied on the overall number of public schools operating annually in Massachusetts over 20 years to track periods of contraction and expansion.

Compared with most other states, the current reductions in Massachusetts appear to be more robust. The nationwide closure rate hovers around 1 percent and has repeatedly fallen below that in recent years, according to a report last year by the Brookings Institution and IZA Institute of Labor Economics.

“Permanent school closures are a rare phenomenon‚” Sofoklis Goulas, the report’s author, said in an interview.

Given projections indicating public school enrollment will continue declining, Goulas said he anticipates more school closures in the future. A variety of factors, he said, are shrinking enrollment, including declining birth rates and an increase in parents choosing private schools, homeschooling, and other alternatives amid lingering concerns over pandemic learning loss.

“A recommendation would be to plan early because closures are a very painful thing for any community,” he said.

In Acton-Boxborough, Superintendent Peter Light said the district’s reorganization of its elementary schools, which calls for changing grade configurations and closing Conant, was an attempt to proactively address declining enrollment.

“Our buildings are not so substantially under capacity that this was a slam dunk,” he said. But he added, ”The resources flowing to the schools weren’t sufficient to keep doing what we need to do for kids.“

The district has cut dozens of positions in recent years, he noted, and finances will remain tight into the foreseeable future.

One of the most ambitious potential mergers is unfolding in Western Massachusetts. The Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont regional school districts are exploring a merger, which could result in closing all elementary schools and relocating students to Mohawk’s secondary school, which would be slightly renovated.

Martha Thurber, chair of the Mohawk Trail School Committee, said consolidating schools into a single campus is critical to ensuring the future viability of Mohawk Trail amid steep enrollment declines and escalating operating costs.

Many elementary school classrooms have only five or six students in them, she said, while merging could result in making unique programs at various elementary schools available to all students, such as an agricultural program at Hawlemont Regional School, which includes a barn with animals.

But convincing voters to support the proposal will be “a hard slog,” with many questions raised about long bus rides and what to do with the empty buildings.

“There are a lot of folks who don’t want to lose their elementary school,” she said. “Our real challenge is to make them see they are not losing an elementary school, they are gaining something much better.”

Across Massachusetts, scores of shuttered schools have been converted into housing or spaces for administrative offices, community organizations, or preschool programs.

In Newton, debate over merging the approximately 100-year-old Underwood and Ward elementary schools into a proposed new building has dragged on for seven years.

Parents are worried that consolidating would obliterate the small neighborhood feel of their schools, which each have fewer than 300 students and are about a mile apart.

“It really is the heart of the community,” said Maggie Elitt, of the Underwood, where her daughters attend the second and fifth grades.

Amy Davis, who has a fourth-grade daughter at Underwood, said she is worried Newton hasn’t thought through the merger, noting Underwood’s enrollment is rebounding amid a districtwide decline in students.

“The general consensus of Underwood is just leave us alone, we are good, our school is 100 years old, and the gym ceiling leaks a little bit, but we are happy for the most part,“ Davis said. ”It would be cool to have a new school, but it’s OK if we don’t.”

Josh Morse, chief operating officer for the City of Newton, said the city is carefully evaluating enrollment trends.

“The question is, when we build a new school, are we going to see an increase in the number of students who come back into the public school system?” he said, noting several parents have opted for private schools because of building conditions. “That variability makes the decision about consolidation even more challenging because we want to make sure that we don’t make a mistake.”

Christopher Huffaker of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

James Vaznis can be reached at james.vaznis@globe.com. Follow him @globevaznis.

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