At A Pennsylvania Event Trump Was Shot In The Ear But His Campaign Claims He’s Okay – The Gunman Was Murdered
A shooting at former President Donald Trump’s rally has prompted an outpouring of concern and condemnation from across the world as authorities investigate the incident. Here’s what we know so far:
- What happened: The shooting took place Saturday afternoon at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The gunman fired multiple shots from an “elevated position” outside the rally before he was killed by Secret Service personnel, the agency said. Police sources say the shooter was on a building rooftop. Videos show Trump being quickly whisked away by security personnel with blood on his face.
- Eyewitness testimonies: Rally attendees described the aftermath as “pandemonium,” with widespread confusion. Some initially thought the sounds had been fireworks, while others described seeing people hit by gunfire.
- Casualties: The incident left at least one audience member dead and two other attendees critically injured, according to the Secret Service. The gunman is also dead.
- Trump’s status: A spokesperson said Trump is “fine,” and the Secret Service said he was safe. The former president said on social media that he was hit by a bullet in the “upper part of my right ear.”
- Investigation: Multiple federal agencies are now involved, with the FBI on the scene. Law enforcement officials say the shooting is being investigated as a possible assassination attempt.
- Biden’s statement: President Joe Biden spoke with Trump after the shooting. Biden said earlier he was grateful Trump was safe. He condemned the shooting and called for the country to unite, saying: “There’s no place in America for this kind of violence.” Biden is returning to the White House from Delaware early to continue being briefed on the shooting.
- World reacts: US and global leaders have also weighed in to denounce the shooting and express their condolences for victims.
Barron Trump is being prepared for new public role, former White House aide claims
Carter Center calls on “all Americans to embrace civility” following Trump rally shooting
The Carter Center, a nonprofit founded by former President Jimmy Carter, condemned violence and called for civility following the shooting at former President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
“The Carter Center condemns the violence that took place at former President Trump’s campaign rally in Pennsylvania. While we don’t know all the facts, we do know that all Americans should be able to gather peaceably without fear of violence,” a statement from the Carter Center said.
“Our thoughts are with President Trump and all those affected by this horrific act, and we call on all Americans to embrace civility in our democratic processes,” the statement continued.
Who is Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks?
Authorities have identified the gunman involved in the attack against former US President Donald Trump on Saturday as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene after the shooting.
The FBI named Crooks in a statement early Sunday morning, identifying him as a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania – about 35 miles south of Butler, where Trump was holding his rally.
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, according to a local media report and a video of the school’s commencement.
He was registered to vote as a Republican, according to a listing in Pennsylvania’s voter database that matched his name, age, and a Bethel Park address that law enforcement was searching Saturday night and is linked to Crooks in public records.
This year’s presidential election would have been the first he was old enough to vote in.
Federal Election Commission records show that a donor listed as Thomas Crooks with the same address gave $15 to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called the Progressive Turnout Project in January 2021.
Witness saw gunman moving “from roof to roof” before shooting
A witness claims he told officers that he saw a gunman moving “from roof to roof,” moments before an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.
“When I turned around to go back to where I was, it was when the gunshots started, and then it was just chaos, and we all came running away, and that was that,” Macer told KDKA.
Authorities have identified the gunman involved in the attack as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene after the shooting.
The FBI said he is as a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania – about 35 miles south of Butler, where Trump was holding his rally.
More world leaders share concern and shock after Trump rally shooting
Chinese President Xi Jinping: “China is concerned about the shooting of former President Trump. President Xi Jinping has expressed condolences/sympathies to former President Trump,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg: “I am shocked by the attempted assassination on former President Trump. I wish him a speedy recovery and my thoughts are with those affected. I condemn this attack. Political violence has no place in our democracies.”
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris: “What we saw last night from Pennsylvania was frightening and wrong. It is a relief that former President Trump is safe and survived the assassination attempt. Our hearts are with the innocent spectators killed and critically injured. There can be no place for political violence.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi: “I followed with concern the treacherous incident that happened to former US President and presidential candidate Donald Trump. While I affirm Egypt’s condemnation of the incident, I express my wishes for a speedy recovery for President Trump, and the completion of the US election campaigns in a peaceful and healthy atmosphere, free of any manifestations of terrorism, violence or hatred.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: “The attack on US presidential candidate Donald Trump is despicable. I wish him a speedy recovery. My thoughts are also with the people who were affected by the attack. Such acts of violence threaten democracy.”
French President Emmanuel Macron: “My thoughts are with President Donald Trump, the victim of an assassination attempt. I send him my wishes for a speedy recovery. A spectator has died, several are injured. It is a tragedy for our democracies. France shares the shock and indignation of the American people.”
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen: “I am deeply shocked by the shooting that took place during former President Trump’s campaign rally. I wish Donald Trump a speedy recovery and offer my condolences to the family of the innocent victim. Political violence has no place in a democracy.”
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof: “Shocked by the attack on former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump. It is a relief that his injuries appear to be minor. I wish him a full and speedy recovery and I send my best wishes to him and his family. My thoughts are with everyone affected by this attack. Political violence is entirely unacceptable.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: “I am following with apprehension the updates from Pennsylvania, where the 45th President of the United States @realDonaldTrump was shot during a rally. My solidarity and best wishes for a speedy recovery go to him, with the hope that the next few months of the electoral campaign will see dialogue and responsibility prevail over hatred and violence.”
“Let me get my shoes”: What was said on stage in the seconds after Trump was shot
Moments after he was shot at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday afternoon, Donald Trump was seen with blood on his ear and cheek as he was rushed off the stage.
Audio reveals how the chaotic shooting scene played out from the view of Trump and those involved in getting him to safety.
Trump was in the middle of speaking when several shots rang out. He clasps his ear and ducks as Secret Service agents surround him. “Get down, get down, get down,” one says. Another shot sounds and a woman screams.
Several voices of Secret Service agents are heard – one says “up!” another “stairs are ready, stairs are ready.” Trump can be heard as well but his words are indistinct. More agents go on stage, some holding assault rifles. Trump’s supporters in the background look shocked, while some film with their phones.
After hearing that the shooter is down, Trump and the agents stand up. Here’s what was said:
Trump: “Let me get my shoes, let me get my shoes.”
Male agent: “I got you sir, I got you sir.”
Trump: “Let me get my shoes.”
Another male agent: “Hold on, your head is bloody.”
Male agent: “Sir, we’ve got to move to the car sir.”
Trump: “Let me get my shoes.”
Female agent says, “OK,” before saying something about the shoe.
Trump: “Wait, wait, wait.” He then fist pumps to the crowd. He mouths “fight” three times — a move met with cheers by the crowd.
Trump and the Secret Service team move away from the podium and head to the cars as the crowd chants, “USA. USA. USA.”
Trump says the country must “stand united” after surviving assassination attempt
Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform again this morning after surviving an assassination attempt at his rally yesterday.
He said he would remain “resilient” and added, “Our love goes out to the other victims and their families.”
Trump is expected to still attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which begins Monday.
Associated Press photographer “went into work mode” to capture iconic Trump photo
Evan Vucci, a veteran photographer at The Associated Press, on Sunday described his experience capturing the assassination attempt against Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Vucci captured the photo of a bloodied Trump raising his fist in the air after he was grabbed by Secret Service agents. His experience in covering wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was helpful in knowing what to do, he explained: “That experience does help, trying to stay calm and understand you have a job to do.”
“As a still photographer, I don’t get a second chance,” Vucci said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP-6_sxTnFQ
Some Trump supporters blame the media for assassination attempt
Moments after Donald Trump was rushed to safety following a failed assassination attempt at a Saturday rally, some of his supporters turned toward the press pen with obscenities as they fingered reporters for blame.
Axios reporter Sophia Cai, who quoted some in the crowd warning the press, “you’re next” and that their “time is coming,” even reported that a few rallygoers tried to breach the barriers establishing the press pen, but that they were stopped by security personnel.
In the immediate wake of the horrific shooting, the news media has quickly emerged among some Trump supporters as a body to assign blame.
While the Trump campaign urged its staff to “condemn all forms of violence” and said it “will not tolerate dangerous rhetoric on social media,” some of the former president’s supporters in MAGA media vehemently assailed the press for its hard-knuckled reporting on Trump, which has sounded the alarm on what four more years under the former president would look like.
Over the course of the campaign cycle, news organizations have, among other things, reported at length on Trump’s plans to warp the federal government for his own ends, including to seek vengeance against his political opponents. That reporting is now facing scrutiny, with some Trump supporters blaming it for producing a charged atmosphere that gave way to the assassination attempt, while mostly looking past the incendiary rhetoric of the former president himself.
Biden and his campaign grapple with how and when to resume advertising against Trump
President Joe Biden and his campaign are facing an abrupt pivot point: After spending the last two weeks trying to salvage the president’s reelection bid, they are now grappling with a delicate national moment following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
The Biden campaign and Democrats across the party scrambled Sunday to determine how to adjust their plans to counter messaging at the Republican National Convention, which had been in the works for some time.
The Biden campaign has yet to decide when to resume its advertising campaign against Trump after pulling the ads Saturday. But that, a separate Democratic strategist said, was the easy decision. A harder question is how and when to resume, with 114 days until the election.
Biden is rescheduling his trip to Texas on Monday, the White House said Sunday afternoon. He was set to deliver remarks at the LBJ Library in Austin as part of an event celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
FBI says shooter’s motives are unclear so far
FBI officials repeatedly emphasized Sunday that their investigation into Saturday’s shooting at former President Donald Trump’s rally is in its preliminary stages and agents are still working to understand what happened.
The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, had no prior contacts with the FBI and had not been previously on its radar or databases. Investigators are struggling to understand Crooks’ motives.
FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate told reporters during a call on Sunday that law enforcement officers are sifting through Crooks’ background, his day-to-day activities and social media presence, though have so far not “seen anything threatening.”
Abbate said that they had “some limited insights into recent communications that he’s made, text and phone call detail information.” That information has thus far not “revealed anything with regard to motive or the involvement or knowledge of anyone else” in the shooting, Abbate said.
Crooks used an AR-style 556 rifle purchased legally by his father, FBI officials said, and one of the things that investigators are still looking to understand is how Crooks gained access to his father’s firearm. He also had “rudimentary” explosive devices in his car, Abbate said, which are being investigated at Quantico.
Updating…
Barron Trump is being prepared for new public role, former White House aide claims
