His shot hit Roosevelt in the chest at very close range, but the assassination attempt was not successful; he was immediately arrested, and was later adjudicated insane.

When he was brought before Judge August C. Backus in Milwaukee Municipal Court he quickly pleaded guilty to shooting Roosevelt.

[6][2] His maternal aunt, Anna Binghammer, suffered from persecutory delusions and was committed to an asylum, Königlich Bayerische Heil- und Pflegeeinrichtung für Nervenkranke [de], in Gabersee, where she died on November 21, 1904, from encephalomalacia.

[4][6]: 192  The Herald-Press also reported that Schrank's paternal grandfather was recorded as having suffered a sudden mental decline and died shortly after.

His mother Katharina subsequently shuffled between homes, sometimes living with her brother Joseph Auer and his family and sometimes with her elderly parents, until Schrank was nine years old.

Joseph acted as a paternal substitute for Schrank in his childhood, showing him how to tend to the vegetable garden and helping with his school work.

He was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended public school in Bavaria from the ages of seven to twelve, where he was noted to be an "outstanding student".

Schrank worked at his aunt and uncle's tavern starting at the age of twelve, first as a bus boy and later as a bartender.

[11] According to family and friends, Schrank developed a great admiration for American ideals and the Founding Fathers, naming historical figures such as George Washington, James Madison, Tadeusz Kościuszko, and Abraham Lincoln as his personal heroes, and kept tags and documents from his immigration process as mementos.

He was described as "mild-mannered, reserved but cheerful, with a wry sense of humor" and well-liked by his neighbors, but also quiet, shy, and withdrawn, and, by his own account, never formed friendships.

Emily died at the age of 19 in a fire on the PS General Slocum on June 15, 1904,[2]: 7, 8  after which Schrank identified Ziegler's body to pathologist William O'Gorman, though his name was misspelled as "John Schrenck" in news reports, variously calling her his girlfriend or fiancée.

"[13] After successfully applying for a passport the year before, Schrank briefly returned to Germany in spring 1906 to visit his family in Erding, where he collected an inheritance from his deceased godmother, presumed to have been his maternal grandmother.

The tavern's revenue had already plummeted since many of the regulars stopped showing up when Schrank took over as owner, so upon returning from his trip, he sold it to a man named Charles Wolfert and joined his foster parents in Yorkville, paying off their mortgage of US$20,000 (equivalent to $678,222 in 2023) as well as covering numerous other expenses.

His aunt died the next year on November 27, 1907, at Presbyterian Hospital, after reportedly suffering a sharp mental decline, followed by her husband on February 11, 1911.

He sold those properties for US$25,000 (equivalent to $817,500 in 2023) and moved to Brooklyn to be closer to the graves of his foster parents in The Evergreens Cemetery,[d] where he became a frequent visitor.

Left with a sizable amount of money but no job, Schrank tried to invest in real estate and the insurance branch, both unsuccessfully, and fell behind on his own mortgage payments, amassing a debt of $13,000 (equivalent to $410,441 in 2023), with his last known residence in New York City being at Homestead Hotel.

[12] Around that time Schrank began drinking heavily, his daily intake averaging five pints of beer, and also took up smoking cigars, sometimes as many as six in a day.

[2] According to Schrank's testimony during his trial, he had a vivid dream on September 7, 1901, the day after the assassination of 25th U.S. president William McKinley.

Schrank also believed that Roosevelt was being backed by "foreign powers" with plans to annex the Panama Canal, which he considered a violation of the Monroe Doctrine that would result in another civil war breaking out.

[2] He stated that after not killing Roosevelt in New Orleans he followed him to Charleston, South Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Evansville, Indiana; Indianapolis; and Chicago, and he claimed that for at least part of the trip, he traveled under the name Walter Roos.

His opening comments to the gathered crowd were, "I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.

[18] The doctors determined that Schrank's bullet had traveled upward 4 inches (10 cm) and had broken Roosevelt's fourth rib on his right side.

[21] Due to the ongoing first Red Scare, Schrank was first suspected to have anarchist leanings by both the press[26] and police,[15] which he firmly denied during interrogation.

[28] Instead of accepting the plea, the judge decided to appoint a panel which was referred to as a "Sanity Commission" to determine whether Schrank was mentally fit.

They said he was right-handed, 5 feet 4+1⁄2 inches (164 cm) tall without shoes and he weighed 160 pounds (73 kg) wearing his clothing.

And it is Further Ordered, that all proceedings in this case be stayed indefinitely and until such recovery.On November 25, 1912, Schrank was committed to the Northern Hospital for the Insane in Waupun, Wisconsin.

When US President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a third term in the 1940 United States presidential election Schrank told a guard that if he were not incarcerated, he would interfere.