BlackRock Inc. has removed an advertisement that featured Thomas Crooks, the shooter at the political rally for former President Donald Trump Saturday in Pennsylvania.
BlackRock Inc., an investment firm, filmed an ad at Bethel High School where Crooks, 20, attended, The New York Post reported.
BlackRock stated Crooks was in the ad with other unpaid students.
“In 2022, we ran an ad featuring a teacher from Bethel Park High School, in which several unpaid students briefly appeared in the background, including Thomas Matthew Crooks,” the company told CBS MoneyWatch.
The ad has since been pulled.
“We will make all video footage available to the appropriate authorities, and we have removed the video from circulation out of respect for the victims,” BlackRock said.
The television ad is 30 seconds long and features an AP and honors economics class with Crooks in it, per the Post.
In the ad, Crooks is seen speaking with his teacher.
The ad was part of a series aimed at teachers managing their retirement assets. It featured a real teacher with real students, per CBS.
The company also spoke about Saturday’s shooting where one man was killed and two others were critically injured.
A bullet grazed Trump’s ear.
“The assassination attempt on former President Trump is abhorrent. We’re thankful former President Trump wasn’t seriously injured and thinking about all the innocent bystanders and victims of this awful act, especially the person who was killed,” BlackRock said in a statement, per CBS. The company said it “condemns political violence of any kind.”
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School that same year.
