The internet has a way of turning a tiny, two-second clip into a massive, tangled web of "what ifs." You've probably seen the headlines or the grainy screenshots floating around by now. It sounds like the plot of a political thriller: the person behind one of the most shocking events in recent American history once popped up in a promotional video for the world’s largest asset manager. Honestly, when people first started talking about the BlackRock commercial Matthew Crooks appeared in, it felt like one of those "too weird to be true" internet rumors.
But it happened. It’s real.
But here is the thing: the context is way less "Manchurian Candidate" and way more "bored high school student in the back of a classroom." If you're looking for the straight story without the wild leaps of logic, let's just break down the actual timeline of that video, why it exists, and how a random classroom shot became a focal point for investigators and internet sleuths alike.
The 2022 Bethel Park Connection
Back in 2022, BlackRock was putting together a series of advertisements. These weren't high-octane Super Bowl spots. They were part of a campaign focused on teachers and how the firm manages retirement assets for educators across the country. One of the locations they chose was Bethel Park High School, located just outside of Pittsburgh.
They needed a real classroom. They needed a real teacher.
The star of the 30-second spot was an actual AP economics and honors teacher at the school. In the world of corporate filming, you often use real environments to get that "authentic" feel. The students in the background weren't professional actors or even paid extras. They were just the kids who happened to be in that class that day.
Among those students was Thomas Matthew Crooks.
He wasn't the lead. He didn't have lines. If you blinked, you’d miss him. In the final cut, Crooks appears twice for a total of about two seconds. He’s sitting at a desk, looking at the whiteboard while the teacher talks. It’s a mundane, everyday scene that millions of students experience every year. At the time, he was just another eighteen-year-old kid about to graduate.
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Why the BlackRock Commercial Matthew Crooks Feature Went Viral
Fast forward to the summer of 2024. After the events in Butler, Pennsylvania, the digital footprint of the gunman was scoured by everyone from the FBI to amateur detectives on X (formerly Twitter). It didn’t take long for someone—specifically activist Laura Loomer—to spot a familiar face in an old financial ad.
The reaction was instant.
The term BlackRock commercial Matthew Crooks started trending as people tried to make sense of the coincidence. In a world where BlackRock is often viewed as this monolithic, shadowy force in global finance, seeing the gunman in one of their videos was like pouring gasoline on a fire of conspiracy theories.
Some claimed he was a "crisis actor." Others suggested he was an employee. People even started digging into BlackRock's real estate holdings to see if they owned the building he fired from (spoiler: they didn't—it was owned by a company called American Glass Research).
Setting the Record Straight on the "Employment" Myth
Let's get this out of the way: Crooks never worked for BlackRock.
- Payment: BlackRock officially stated that the students in the video were unpaid volunteers.
- Role: He was an extra, nothing more. He was a student at the school where the filming took place.
- Access: He had no professional ties to the firm’s New York headquarters or its investment operations.
When the news broke, BlackRock acted quickly. They pulled the ad from circulation immediately. They issued a statement condemning the violence as "abhorrent" and expressed their sympathies for the victims. They also handed over all raw footage from that day to the authorities to help with the investigation.
The Reality of Background Extras
If you’ve ever been on a film set, you know how chaotic it is. The production crew probably didn't even know the names of half the kids in the room. They just needed a "full" classroom.
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It is a bizarre coincidence, but coincidences happen in a country of 330 million people. Sometimes, the person in the background of a photo or a video goes on to do something significant—or in this case, something horrific.
Think about it. How many times have you been in the background of someone else's vacation photo or a local news segment? You're a "character" in their story for a split second, but you have no idea who they are. That’s basically what happened here.
How BlackRock Responded to the Fallout
The firm was in a tough spot. They were already a frequent target of criticism from both the left and the right for different reasons—ranging from their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) policies to their massive influence on the housing market.
Adding an "assassination attempt connection" to that list was a nightmare for their PR department.
They didn't just hide, though. They were transparent about the fact that he was in the video. By acknowledging it early, they tried to get ahead of the "secret tie" narrative. They confirmed that the footage was from 2022, two years before the shooting, and that there had been zero contact with Crooks since the cameras stopped rolling at Bethel Park High.
Misinformation and the "Owned Building" Theory
One of the wildest claims that followed the BlackRock commercial Matthew Crooks discovery was that BlackRock owned the AGR International building in Butler.
Fact-checkers and county records eventually debunked this. The building was owned by a glass research firm. While BlackRock owns shares in thousands of companies (they are the world's largest asset manager, after all), there was no direct ownership link or "staging" involving the property.
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What This Tells Us About Modern Information
This whole saga is a perfect example of how "the dots connect themselves" in the age of social media. We see a name, we see a massive corporation, and our brains naturally want to find a pattern.
But sometimes, a student in an economics class is just a student in an economics class.
The real tragedy isn't a two-second cameo in a retirement ad. It’s the lives lost and changed in Butler. The video is a footnote—a strange, eerie footnote—but it doesn't explain the "why" behind the shooter's actions. Investigators are still looking for that, and it likely has nothing to do with an investment firm's marketing budget from two years ago.
Actionable Steps for Navigating These Stories
If you're trying to separate fact from fiction when these types of viral stories break, here is how you should handle it:
- Check the Source of the Footage: In this case, it was a real ad from 2022. The date matters because it places the event long before the motive developed.
- Verify Employment Claims: Corporate "extras" are rarely employees. Check for official statements from the company or payroll records if they become public.
- Look for the "Why": Ask yourself if the connection makes logical sense. Does an asset manager benefit from having a random high schooler in an ad? Not really.
- Wait for the FBI: In high-profile cases, the official investigation usually debunks or confirms these links within weeks.
The story of the BlackRock commercial Matthew Crooks appeared in is ultimately a story about the intersection of a mundane past and a violent future. It serves as a reminder that the people we see every day, even in the background of a TV screen, have lives that can take turns no one—not even a billion-dollar company—can predict.
Stick to the verified timelines. The footage is part of the public record now, but its significance is purely historical, not conspiratorial. Understanding that distinction is key to making sense of the noise.