TOPSHOT - Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with what appears to be blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. Republican candidate Donald Trump was evacuated from the stage at today's rally after what sounded like shots rang out at the event in Pennsylvania, according to AFP. The former US president was seen with blood on his right ear as he was surrounded by security agents, who hustled him off the stage as he pumped his first to the crowd. Trump was bundled into an SUV and driven away. (Photo by Rebecca DROKE / AFP) (Photo by REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)REBECCA DROKE/Getty Images
1 of 27
The assassination attempt of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania this weekend stands to reshape an already contentious and dramatic 2024 election race.
The shooting left one spectator dead and two others critically injured.
The incident occurred two days before the Republican National Convention, which will begin as scheduled on Monday in Milwaukee, with Mr. Trump planning to speak and announce his vice-presidential running mate.
While there have been cases of political violence targeting U.S. politicians, the weekend attack is considered the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
Here is what we know so far about what happened this weekend:
An annotated photo shows what appears to be a projectile passing by Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday.DOUG MILLS/The New York Times
The shooting
Mr. Trump was talking about immigration at the rally when the sound of shots rang out. The former president ducked behind a lectern and security agents rushed to the stage. Video footage captured the sound of screams from the crowd.
Agents created a shield around Mr. Trump and could be heard indicating that a “shooter’s down.” When he stood up, Mr. Trump’s face was bloodied. He then pumped his fist as supporters cheered and he was ushered off the stage.
Mr. Trump and his motorcade left the scene and he was checked into a medical facility in Pennsylvania. He later flew to New Jersey.
Mr. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform and said he “felt the bullet ripping through the skin” and that much bleeding took place. The former president also said it was “incredible that such an act can take place” and he immediately knew that something was wrong when he heard a whizzing sound.
Where the shots came from
Location of assassination attempt:
Butler Farm Show grounds
Butler
HWY. 68
MERIDIAN RD.
PENNSYLVANIA
PENN.
1 km
Butler Farm Show grounds
Law enforcement
snipers
125 metres
MAIN ST.
Roof where suspected
gunman’s body
was located
Stage area where
Trump was injured
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source: openstreetmap;
new york times; nbc news; google earth image
Location of assassination attempt:
Butler Farm Show grounds
Butler
HWY. 68
MERIDIAN RD.
PENNSYLVANIA
PENN.
1 km
Butler Farm Show grounds
Law enforcement
snipers
125 metres
MAIN ST.
Roof where suspected
gunman’s body
was located
Stage area where
Trump was injured
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source: openstreetmap;
new york times; nbc news; google earth image
Location of assassination attempt:
Butler Farm Show grounds
Butler
HWY. 68
MERIDIAN RD.
PENNSYLVANIA
PENN.
1 km
Butler Farm Show grounds
Law enforcement
snipers
125 metres
MAIN ST.
Roof where suspected
gunman’s body was
located
Stage area where
Trump was injured
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source: openstreetmap;
new york times; nbc news; google earth image
Officials say Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pa., opened fire from a rooftop outside the rally venue in Butler.
The Secret Service said in a statement that the shooter “fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue.” Mr. Crooks was killed by the service.
How Mr. Crooks was able to get a gun so close to the rally in Butler, Penn., will be a central question for the FBI, which is investigating the shooting.
The crowd reacts as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press
The witness accounts
In an interview with the BBC, bystander Greg Smith detailed how he saw a man with a rifle “bear-crawling” on the roof of a building outside of the rally. Mr. Smith said he tried to notify police but the man remained in position for two or several minutes before opening fire.
“So we’re standing there, we’re pointing, we’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof,” Mr. Smith told the BBC. “He had a rifle. We could clearly see him with a rifle.”
“I’m thinking to myself, why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage? I’m standing there pointing at him for two or three minutes.”
Police snipers return fire after shots were fired while Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press
Mr. Smith the Security Service crawled up on the roof, pointed their guns and made sure the shooter was dead.
Another witness provided a similar account to CBS News, saying he had told a police officer at least twice about a man moving on rooftops before the shooting occurred.
Michael Stigamire, a long-time Trump supporter, said he and his girlfriend Christine Kortes found a spot under a water tent about 150 metres from the stage. He said at first, he thought a Roman candle was going off but then heard rapid fire and realized it was gunshots. Mr. Stigamire said he doesn’t understand how someone was able to climb up on the roof and get so close to Trump.
The shooter
Thomas Matthew Crooks, who graduated from Bethel Park High School with the Class of 2022, in Bethel Park, Pa. Crooks was identified by the FBI as the shooter involved in the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.Bethel Park School District via AP
At a Saturday night news conference, the FBI said it used DNA testing to confirm the shooter’s identity.
The U.S. security and intelligence agency identified the shooter as Mr. Crooks. The 20-year-old was a resident of Bethel Park, a community located south of Pittsburgh and less than 80 kilometres from where the shooting took place.
Court records in Pennsylvania show no past criminal cases against Mr. Crooks. State voter records show that the coming November election would have been the first time Mr. Crooks would have been old enough to vote in a presidential race.
Mr. Crooks’ political leanings seemed contradictory. While a junior in high school, he donated $15 to a political action committee aligned with the Democratic Party. Eight months later in his senior year, however, he registered to vote as a Republican.
Authorities say Mr. Crooks first came to law enforcement attention when spectators at the rally noticed him acting strangely outside the event. Specifically, he was pacing near the magnetometers, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
Law enforcement believes the weapon used to shoot at Mr. Trump, an AR-15-style assault rifle, was purchased by Mr. Crooks’s father, the Associated Press news agency reported. Two officers told the agency that the gunman’s father, Matthew Crooks, bought a weapon at least six months ago.
Before arriving at the rally site, Mr. Crook purchased 50 rounds of ammunition from a gun store, Reuters news agency reported.
As well, officials told Associated Press that bomb-making materials were found inside Mr. Crooks’s vehicle, in addition to at his home.
The FBI said on Monday it has gained access to Mr. Crooks’s phone. They had said that a preliminary review of recent calls and texts by the shooter did not shed any light on his motive, or on whether others may have had prior knowledge of his plans.
A Pennsylvania State trooper cordons off the area leading to the home of Thomas Crooks in Bethel Park, Pa.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail
Victim information
A firefighter who attended the rally, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, was killed. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said at a Sunday news conference that Mr. Comperatore dove on his family to protect them during the shooting and “died a hero.”
Pennsylvania State Police identified the two other shooting victims and both are listed in stable condition: 57-year-old David Dutch of New Kensington, Pa., and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, of Moon Township, Pa.
A memorial for volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore at the Buffalo Township Fire Company 27. Mr. Comperatore, 50, was killed during Donald Trump's campaign rally on the weekend.Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Political reaction
The shooting incident has been met with condemnation, including from U.S. President Joe Biden.
Mr. Biden held a news conference about three hours after the incident and said everyone must condemn the assassination attempt. He said he was not able to reach Mr. Trump prior to delivering his remarks.
U.S. President Joe Biden used the formal setting of the White House Oval Office on July 14 to ask Americans to lower the political temperature and remember they are neighbors after a would-be assassin wounded Republican rival Donald Trump.
Reuters
On Sunday, Mr. Biden delivered a rare address from the Oval Office and called on all Americans to stand together and not go down the path of political violence. The political rhetoric of the United States has become “very heated,” he said.
“It’s time to cool it down,” Mr. Biden said. “We have a responsibility to do that.”
Mr. Biden has ordered an independent security review of the attack.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday evening in a statement posted on social-media platform X that he was “sickened” by the shooting. Mr. Trudeau also said that it cannot be overstated that political violence is “never acceptable.”
The Prime Minister’s Office said that Mr. Trudeau spoke with Mr. Trump on Sunday afternoon. The office said the Prime Minister wished the former president well and offered condolences to the shooting victims and Mr. Comperatore’s family.
With reports from Nathan VanderKlippe, Adrian Morrow, Robyn Doolittle, Laura Stone, Greg Mercer, Irene Galea, Associated Press and Reuters