Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign collected data that identified the family of would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks as likely MAGA supporters and among those who were avid hunters and enjoyed ” gun-related lifestyle indicators.”
According to a report from the U.K.’s Channel 4, “The information was compiled as part of a secretive project aiming to identify millions of gun owners in America who could be targeted with pro-gun rights messages in the lead-up to the 2016 election campaign.”
Crooks’ parents were on the list, the report said.
Crooks was shot and killed on Saturday after opening fire on a Trump rally from atop a nearby building. He had an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle that his father legally purchased, authorities said, and many rounds of ammunition.
The New York Times interviewed a person who went to high school with Crooks.
“Those other kids would always say, ‘Hey, look at the school shooter over there!’” said Julianna Grooms, who remembers him from when they were freshmen. “They would tease him about his poor hygiene, his body odor. He was an easy target.”
