What we know about the Trump assassination attempt
The assassination attempt against former President Trump has rocked the political world.
Trump was bloodied at a Pennsylvania campaign rally on Saturday after he said a bullet hit his ear, and one other attendee, as well as the gunman, were killed. The incident has sparked questions about security protocols and the shooter’s motives, and it took place just days before thousands of people descended on Milwaukee, Wis., for the Republican National Convention.
Here’s what we know about the shooting.
Trump was shot at a Saturday campaign rally
The former president was holding a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, a city roughly 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.
He was on stage for less than 10 minutes when a series of pops went off. Trump grabbed at his ear and neck area as Secret Service agents stormed the stage. As agents helped him to his feet, Trump pumped his fist to the crowd. His campaign and family said shortly after that he was doing fine.
Trump posted on Truth Social roughly two-and-a-half hours after the shooting took place, confirming he was shot in the ear.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he posted. “Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
Officials have called it an assassination attempt
Law enforcement officials who briefed reporters late Saturday described the incident as “an assassination attempt against our former president, Donald Trump.”
One other attendee is dead
One rally attendee was killed in the gunfire. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) identified the victim as Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief from the area whom the governor said “died a hero” protecting his family.
Trump, President Biden and scores of lawmakers have expressed their condolences to the victim’s family.
Two others were wounded, authorities said. A GoFundMe for the shooting victims, which Trump advisers have shared on social media, had raised more than $2.5 million as of early Sunday evening.
Shooter has been identified, investigation is ongoing
Law enforcement has identified the suspected shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pa.
Crooks opened fire from a rooftop in the vicinity of the rally site before he was shot by Secret Service. The Associated Press reported explosive materials were found in Crooks’s car near the rally and at his home.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told The Associated Press on Sunday that Crooks was not previously known to investigators in the area.
Authorities are still working to determine a possible motive in the shooting.
A top FBI official said during a Sunday briefing that the bureau is also looking into the shooting as a “potential” domestic terrorism act. The FBI believes he acted alone.
Authorities said the weapon recovered during the shooting was “an AR style 556 rifle, which was purchased legally.” Officials said they believed the weapon had been bought by the suspected shooter’s father.
Secret Service is under scrutiny
Lawmakers are putting the Secret Service under a microscope over its protocols for the rally, questioning how a gunman could get onto a roof with a clean line of sight to the former president.
Congressional Republicans are pledging investigations into and at least one hearing about the rally shooting.
“The American people deserve to know the truth. We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) posted on the social platform X.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) swiftly requested that Cheatle testify at a hearing about the shooting on July 22. The House Homeland Security Committee also said in a post on X that it had been in contact with the Secret Service and requested an official briefing for its members.
Former Secret Service officials have spoken following the rally about the challenges of securing a large, outdoor event.
But rallygoers have also given interviews about alerting law enforcement to a man climbing to the top of a roof of a nearby building. The Associated Press reported that one officer climbed to the roof and found the gunman, but the officer retreated down the ladder after the suspect pointed a rifle at him.
Biden has spoken with Trump and ordered a security review
Biden has been briefed regularly by top federal law enforcement officials since the shooting took place on Saturday night. The president has spoken on camera multiple times, including a planned Oval Office address to the nation on Sunday night.
Biden said he had a “short but good” conversation with Trump on Saturday night over the phone.
The president has called for unity and condemned the shooting as un-American. He also said he has directed the head of the Secret Service to review all security measures around this week’s Republican National Convention, and he has directed an independent review of the national security at Saturday’s rally “to assess exactly what happened.”
A Secret Service spokesperson on Saturday called it “absolutely false” that a request for additional security resources from Trump’s team was rebuffed, saying the agency had recently added protective resources and capabilities.
The GOP convention is going ahead as planned, with Trump in attendance
The Republican National Convention is set to take place from Monday to Thursday in Milwaukee, and the event is going ahead as planned with no changes to the schedule.
Trump posted on Truth Social that he was going to delay his travel to Wisconsin by two days because of the shooting, but instead decided to depart Sunday afternoon because, “I cannot allow a 'shooter,' or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else.”
Trump campaign leadership said in a memo to staff on Sunday the GOP convention “will continue as planned in Milwaukee, where we will nominate our President to be the brave and fearless nominee of our Party.”
Trump will formally accept the nomination Thursday night. He is also expected to name his running mate during the convention, likely on Monday.
The Secret Service official coordinating efforts at the convention said at a briefing on Sunday they were not planning to change the security plan for the event in light of the assassination attempt.
“We are confident in these security plans that are in for this event, and we're ready to go,” Audrey Gibson-Cicchino said at a press briefing. “It's been an 18-month process. We've worked together over that 18 months to develop operational security plans for any and all aspects of security related to this event.”