Breaking News: The FBI has now identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park Pennsylvania. The New York Post reports that Crooks was a registered Republican, which raises further questions about his motive for attempting to assassinate the presumptive Republican nominee.
Butler, PA — A gunman opened fire from a rooftop into the crowd at a Donald Trump rally, wounding the former President, killing one attendee, and seriously injuring two others.
The FBI has officially taken over the investigation of the incident.
“Tonight we had what we’re calling an assassination attempt on our former president, Donald Trump,” Kevin Rojek, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Pittsburgh field office, said late Saturday. “We do not currently have an identified motive,” he added.
The New York Post has been the first to report that, according to voter records, Crooks is a registered Republican, which raises more questions about his motives for shooting the presumptive Republican nominee.
A video of the incident showed Trump reacting at the moment by instinctively touching his right ear when the bullet whizzed past before ducking under the podium upon realizing it was an attempt on his life.
In a scene reminiscent of an action movie, Secret Service agents rushed the stage, covering Trump and piling on him to shield him from further threats. Two police officers wearing tactical gear and armed with long guns paraded the stage as Trump lay on the ground out of sight. A photo captured a bleeding Trump on the stage deck, with Secret Service agents on top of him.
Trump later emerged with blood on the side of his head and defiantly pumped his fist in the air, mouthing words, leading his supporters to chant USA, USA, before being whisked away to his awaiting armored SUV.
Breaking News: Law enforcement stand over the body of the gunman. The FBI has now identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks. He is a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park Pennsylvania. (Photo Credit: the New York Post)
Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi released a statement about the shooting.
“During the former President Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on the evening of July 13th at approximately 6:15 p.m., a suspected shooter fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue. US Secret Service personnel neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased,” Guglielmi said.
According to multiple media sources, the FBI has identified the shooter as a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man, but they have not released his name. (Update: The FBI has now identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks. He is a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park Pennsylvania.)
In an earlier press conference, local law enforcement and the FBI declined to name the shooter, saying he did not have any identification on him.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Donald Trump statement.
Voter record uncovered by the New York Post indicates the gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was a registered Republican. The 20-year old is from Bethel Park, PA, a town 40 miles from Butler, where Trump held his rally.
Greg Smith, a witness at the Trump rally, told the BBC he saw a man with a rifle on a rooftop minutes before the shooting began.
“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why is Trump still speaking, why have they not pulled him off the stage?’… the next thing you know, five shots ring out,” Smith told the BBC.
Smith said he pointed the gunman out to police and later saw agents shoot the man after he fired five shots, wounding Trump, killing a rally attendee, and critically wounding two others.
In a statement on Truth Social, Trump described the incident: “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” adding that he realized what was happening as he felt the bullet and heard a whizzing sound. He thanked the Secret Service for their swift action and expressed condolences to the victims’ families, emphasizing the tragic nature of the event in the country.
The Associated Press said President Joe Biden called Trump to express his sympathies. In a statement, Biden said he was “praying” for Trump and was grateful he was safe. He reiterated these sentiments in a televised address, condemning the violence and calling for unity.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. We must unite as one nation to condemn it,” Biden said.
The incident has raised questions about the Secret Service’s judgment allowing the shooter to occupy a threatening position approximately less than 200 yards from where Trump was speaking.
Responding to media questions, Rojek said law enforcement was unaware of the shooter’s presence on the roof until he began firing.
“It is surprising” that the shooter was able to get off as many rounds as were fired, Rojek said.
The incident that has taken place less than one week before the Republican National Convention, where the GOP is expected to nominate Trump as the party’s flagbearer, has sent shockwaves across the nation.
The Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, said the House would thoroughly investigate the attack, saying, “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,” Johnson said.
The FBI is asking any member of the public who has information about the shooting to contact them at 1-800-Call-FBI.
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