Former president Donald Trump was shot during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. He immediately shielded and was taken to safety after an ear injury. Details about how the incident unfolded and the identity of the shooter are emerging, Thomas Matthew Crooks20. This is what we know.
Where did it happen?
The shooting happened at an address Presidential campaign in Butler, PennsylvaniaA town in the western part of the state, about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh.
What’s going on?
About six minutes into Trump’s speech, the former president can be seen holding his ear after boos are heard at the rally. Trump fell to the ground as several Secret Service agents rushed to the stage and surrounded him on all sides. As soon as the stage opened, there were screams from the audience.
Approximately a minute later, agents helped Trump off the floor and to his feet. He raised his fist to the crowd and cheered the supporters. Then several agents rushed him took him down from the stage and put him in the car.
Blood was seen on Trump’s ear and on the side of his face. He later said On his social media site, Truth Social, he said the bullet “pierced the top of my right ear.”
Eight shots were fired by the shooter, according to preliminary information that could change as the crime scene is processed, an official said.
At the time of the shooting, Trump was talking about President Joe Biden’s immigration policy.
Anyone else offended?
One spectator was killed and two were seriously injured, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.
On Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the dead man was Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former firefighter. He said that Comperatore, whom he calls a hero, took action to protect his wife and two daughters when gunshots were heard at the rally.
The two injured victims are in critical condition after being admitted to the hospital on Saturday night. Dan Laurent, vice president of corporate communications for Allegheny Health Network, confirmed that both were being treated at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Witnesses described hearing loud noises, according to one person saw someone with a bullet wound in the back of the head and another person said he saw someone “bleeding profusely.”
Bivens said none of the injured were police officers.
Rep. Ronnie Jackson, R-Texas, said in a statement that his nephew was wounded in the shooting. Jackson said his family was sitting next to Trump and after hearing gunshots, he realized his nephew had been grazed by something and cut his throat.
She said her nephew’s injury was not serious and that he was “doing fine.”
Was it an assassination attempt? What institutions conduct research?
Law enforcement agencies are investigating the incident as an attempted assassination.
“Tonight we have what we call an assassination attempt against our former president, Donald Trump,” said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh office.
The FBI said it was leading the investigation and special agents from its Pittsburgh field office responded immediately. They work alongside the Secret Service, state and local law enforcement agencies. After the shooting, the FBI deployed investigators, bomb squads and evidence responders.
Follow live updates on the shooting at the Trump rally
“We will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of the FBI, along with our partners at the US Secret Service, state and local law enforcement agencies,” the FBI said. said in the statement.
Rojek asked witnesses to the shooting to contact the FBI.
The House of Representatives will also investigate the shooting, and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., previously said his committee would.
Who is the shooter? What was the motive?
The shooter is dead Secret Service confirmed on X. FBI identified the shooter As Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The predominantly white, relatively affluent city is south of greater Pittsburgh.
“We do not have a determined motive at this time, although our investigators are working tirelessly to determine what that motive is,” Rojek said.
A representative of a high-ranking law enforcement agency, who provided direct information on the matter, said that the essence of the shooting indicated political ideology as a motive, but nothing was known for certain at that time.
According to three senior US law enforcement officers found at the scene, Crooks used a semi-automatic rifle.
Investigators are also looking into whether the gun Crooks used belonged to his father and whether it was purchased legally, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.
Pennsylvania voter records show a person with the same name, address and date of birth as a registered Republican.
According to the Ministry of Defense, he had no connection with the US military.
It is not known whether the shooter acted alone or in coordination with others. According to the US official, there is currently no evidence that the shooting was connected to a foreign actor.
Where was the shooter? Did the shooter go through security?
The shots were fired from outside a security perimeter established by the Secret Service, three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. Bivens said the building where the shooter was located was “some distance” from the security perimeter.
This information clarifies whether and how the gunman could have obtained a firearm by passing security and weapon-detecting magnetometers at the rally. Apparently, the shooter did not.
The shooter appears to be on a nearby rooftop.
Law enforcement officials found a number of suspicious canisters or containers in Crooks’ car, but it is not known whether they were used as incendiary or explosive devices, two officials said. The family is cooperating with investigators, the official said.
What did we hear from Trump?
Trump first posted about the incident on Truth Social.
“The bullet pierced the upper part of my right ear. I immediately understood that something was wrong, I heard a buzzing sound, a shot, and immediately felt a bullet go through the skin. There was a lot of bleeding, so I realized what was going on. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” he wrote.
He thanked the Secret Service and law enforcement for their quick response. He added: “Most importantly, I want to express my condolences to the family of the person who died in the rally, as well as to the family of another person who was seriously injured.”
“It is unbelievable that such an event happened in our country. Currently, nothing is known about the deceased shooter,” he wrote.
What have we heard from Trump’s family?
Melania Trump released a statement Sunday explaining her horror at the incident and thanking the Secret Service agents and law enforcement agencies who responded. He also expressed his condolences to the victims.
“A monster who knew my husband as an inhuman political machine tried to voice Donald’s passion – his laughter, his ingenuity, his love of music and his inspiration,” she said. “The main aspects of my husband’s life – his human side – were buried under the political machine.”
He encouraged people to move beyond partisan politics: “Let’s remember that differences of opinion, politics and political games are inferior to love.”
Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka Trump condemned the attack A statement about X, thanks people for their prayers. “I am grateful to the Secret Service and all other law enforcement agencies for their swift and decisive actions today,” he said. “I continue to pray for our country.”
“I love you dad, today and always,” she said.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., said in a statement through a spokesman that he had spoken to his father on the phone on Saturday and that he was “very fine.” “No matter what the radical left throws at him, he will never stop fighting to save America,” he said.
Their brother Eric Trump tweeted the picture his father pumps his fist in the air after the shooting. “This is the fighter America needs!” read the post.
Did Biden answer?
Biden said that he spoke with Trump after the shoot, as well as with Shapiro and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy.
The president first addressed reporters about 90 minutes after the shooting in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
“He is sick. This is sick. This is one of the reasons why we should unite the country.” “We cannot accept that.”
Biden said Trump seems to be doing well. Asked by a reporter immediately after the shooting whether he believed the incident was an attempted assassination, Biden said, “I have an opinion, but I don’t have all the facts.”
Biden added that he wanted more information before commenting further.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the president was informed of the shooting after leaving the Catholic assembly he attended in Delaware.
An official said the agitation has been suspended. The campaign said it will “cease all outgoing communications and attempt to divert our television ads as soon as possible.”
Will Trump still be at the Republican National Convention?
The Republican National Convention, where Trump and his vice presidential pick will be formally nominated as the party’s nominees, is scheduled to be held in Milwaukee from Monday to Thursday.
Before Saturday’s taping, Trump was expected to choose his running mate in the coming days and deliver an acceptance speech Thursday evening.
The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee a joint statement Then on Saturday, the former president “looks forward to joining you all in Milwaukee as we continue our convention to install him as the 47th President of the United States.”