What we know about the Trump assassination attempt and the shooter

What we know about the Trump assassination attempt and the shooter

Former President Donald Trump was shot during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. He was immediately shielded and taken to safety after his ear was injured. Details are emerging about how it happened and the identity of the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20.

President Joe Biden delivered an address from the Oval Office Sunday night and said he was grateful Trump was not seriously hurt.

Here’s what we know.

Where did it happen?

The shooting took place at a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a city in the western part of the state about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh.

What happened?

About six minutes into Trump’s speech, the former president could be seen clutching his ear after popping noises rang out over the rally. Trump ducked to the ground as several Secret Service agents rushed to the stage and surrounded him on all sides. There were screams from onlookers as the scene unfolded.

Roughly a minute later, agents helped Trump get up from the ground and stand. He held up his fist to the crowd, prompting cheers from supporters. Several agents then rushed him off the stage and escorted him into a vehicle.

Blood could be seen on Trump’s ear and on the side of his face. He later said on his social media site, Truth Social, that a bullet “pierced the upper part of my right ear.”

According to preliminary reports, which could change as the crime scene is processed, eight shots were fired by the shooter, an official said.

Secret Service wipe off blood (Gene J. Puskar / AP)

Secret Service wipe off blood (Gene J. Puskar / AP)

Trump was talking about President Joe Biden’s policies on immigration when shots were fired.

Was anyone else hurt? 

One spectator died and two others were critically wounded, Pennsylvania state Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.

The man who died was 50-year-old former firefighter Corey Comperatore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Sunday. He said that Comperatore, who he called a hero, moved to protect his wife and two daughters when gunshots were heard at the rally.

The two people who were wounded were David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Both are being treated at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and are listed as being in stable condition.

Witnesses described hearing loud popping noises, with one person saying they saw someone who was shot in the back of the head and another person who said she saw someone “bleeding profusely.”

None of the injured included police officers, Bivens said.

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, said in a statement that his nephew was injured in the shooting. Jackson said that his family was seated near Trump and that after they heard shots, his nephew realized something had grazed and cut his neck.

He said his nephew’s injury was not serious and “he is doing well.”

Was it an assassination attempt? Which agencies are investigating?

Law enforcement is investigating the incident as an assassination attempt.

“This evening, we had what we’re calling an assassination attempt against our former president, Donald Trump,” said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of FBI’s Pittsburgh field office.

The FBI, which is leading the investigation, said said Sunday the shooting is investigating it as an act of domestic terrorism. The agency is working alongside the Secret Service and state and local law enforcement. In the aftermath of the shooting, the FBI deployed investigative agents, bomb technicians and evidence response personnel.

Follow live updates on the Trump rally shooting

Rojek asked that witnesses to the shooting contact the FBI.

The House of Representatives will also be investigating the shooting, and Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., earlier said his committee would be investigating.

Police snipers returned fire after shots were fired while Donald Trump was speaking at the rally. (Gene J. Puskar / AP)

Police snipers returned fire after shots were fired while Donald Trump was speaking at the rally. (Gene J. Puskar / AP)

Who is the shooter? What was the motive?

The shooter is dead, the Secret Service confirmed on X. The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The predominantly white, relatively well-to-do city is south of greater Pittsburgh.

“We do not currently have an identified motive, although our investigators are working tirelessly to attempt to identify what that motive was,” Rojek said.

A senior law enforcement official directly briefed on the matter said the nature of the shooting suggests political ideology as motive but that there nothing definitive known at the time.

Thomas Matthew Crooks. (Obtained by NBC News)

Thomas Matthew Crooks. (Obtained by NBC News)

Crooks used a semi-automatic rifle, based on what was found at the scene, three senior U.S. law enforcement officials said. FBI officials said that the weapon he used is believed to have been bought by his father, though they don’t have any additional information right now of how he got it.

The shooter was part of an area gun club, The Clairton Sportsmen’s Club. At its range in Clairton, the club has for skeet shooting, high-power rifle exercises and archery practice.

The FBI sent Crooks’ phone to a lab to try to gain access to it, officials said.

Voter records from Pennsylvania listed a person with the same name, address and birth date as a registered Republican.

He did not have any affiliation with the U.S. military, according to the Department of Defense.

It was not known whether the shooter was acting alone or in coordination with others. There does not appear to be any evidence currently that the shooting had any link to a foreign actor, according to a U.S. official.

Where was the shooter? Did the shooter get past security?

Shots were fired from outside the security perimeter established by the Secret Service, three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.

Bivens, the Pennsylvania State Police lieutenant colonel, said the building where the shooter was perched was “some distance” away from the security perimeter.

That information clarifies whether and how a gunman could have gotten a firearm past security and gun-detecting magnetometers at the rally. It appears the shooter did not.

The shooter appears to have been on a nearby rooftop.

Law enforcement officials found a number of suspicious canisters or containers in Crooks’ vehicle, which was left near the rally, but it unclear if their were functional as incendiary or explosive devices, two officials say. The family is cooperating with investigators, an official said.

What have we heard from Trump?

Trump first posted about the incident on Truth Social.

“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. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” he wrote.

He expressed gratitude to the Secret Service and law enforcement for their quick response. He added, “Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured.”

“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead,” he wrote.

Trump thanked Secret Service agents for their rapid response. (Evan Vucci / AP)

Trump thanked Secret Service agents for their rapid response. (Evan Vucci / AP)

What have we heard from Trump’s family?

Melania Trump released a statement Sunday describing the fear she felt seeing the incident unfold and thanking the Secret Service agents and law enforcement who responded. She also offered sympathy for the victims.

“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion — his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration,” she wrote in the statement. “The core facets of my husband’s life — his human side — were buried below the political machine.”

She encouraged people to look beyond partisan politics: “Let us not forget that differing opinions, policy, and political games are inferior to love.”

Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, condemned the attack in a statement on X, thanking people for their prayers. “I am grateful to the Secret Service and all the other law enforcement officers for their quick and decisive actions today,” she wrote. “I continue to pray for our country.”

“I love you Dad, today and always,” she added.

Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., said in a statement through his spokesperson that he spoke to his father over the phone Saturday and that he is in “great spirits.” “He will never stop fighting to save America, no matter what the radical left throws at him,” Trump Jr. said.

Their brother Eric Trump tweeted a picture of his father pumping his fist in the air after the shooting. “This is the fighter America needs!” the post read.

Has Biden responded?

In his address from the Oval Office, Biden shared his condolences for those who were hurt and championed the values of democracy. “The higher the stakes, the more fervent the passions become,” he said. “This places an added burden on each of us that ensure that no matter how strong, our convictions, must never descend into violence.”

The president also held a news conference earlier in the day, in which he said he’d spoken with Trump, who was “doing well and recovering.” Biden added that he and Vice President Kamala Harris have been briefed by law enforcement, the National Security adviser and Homeland Security.

Biden said he has directed the Secret Service to provide Trump with “every resource capability and protective measure necessary to ensure his continued safety.” He has also asked the Secret Service to review security for the Republican National Convention, which begins on Monday, and ordered an independent review of national security at the rally.

The president urged unity and cautioned against assumptions about the suspect’s motives.

Biden first addressed reporters about the shooting from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, about 90 minutes after it occurred.

“It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country,” he said. “We cannot condone this.”

Campaigning has been put on hold, an Biden campaign official said. The campaign will be “pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible,” the official said.

Will Trump still be at the Republican National Convention?

The Republican National Convention — where Trump and his vice presidential pick will be officially nominated as the party’s candidates — is scheduled to take place in Milwaukee from Monday to Thursday.

Trump arrived in Wisconsin on Sunday and wrote on Truth Social earlier that he had considered delaying his trip to Wisconsin but reconsidered.

Prior to Saturday’s shooting, the former presient was expected to pick his running mate in the coming days and set to give an acceptance speech Thursday evening.

Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee said in a joint statement on Saturday after that the former president “looks forward to joining you all in Milwaukee as we proceed with our convention to nominate him to serve as the 47th President of the United States.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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