Former President Donald Trump was the subject of an assassination attempt on Saturday when a shooter opened fire on him during a rally about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.
The gunshot killed one person and left two gravely injured, according to the US Secret Service. At a press conference, police enforcement authorities stated that all were adult males. The shooter was fatally shot by the Secret Service.
Trump was taken off the stage, and the rally came to a close shortly after.
Early Sunday, the FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa., some 40 miles south of Butler.
“It’ll be some time before we can conclusively answer” if it was a lone gunman, Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said at a press conference late Saturday.
He stated that they had identified the victims and informed their families, but they are not releasing their identities at this time.
Bivens stated that the PSP will lead the homicide and other aspects of the inquiry, while the FBI will handle the “attempted assassination.” According to Bivens, “at this time, we have no reason to believe there is any other outstanding threat out there.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised the agents who were guarding him.
“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 who was badly injured,” he told reporters. “It’s amazing that such an incident can occur in our country. There is currently no information available on the gunman, who has since died.
I was wounded with a bullet that entered the top of my right ear. I knew something was wrong when I heard a whizzing sound, gunfire, and felt the bullet slice through my skin. Much blood occurred, and I recognized what was going on.”
Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, stated that Trump was checked out at a local medical institution and was OK.
The Trump campaign and the RNC published a statement stating that the Republican National Convention will still take place this week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The conference is scheduled to begin on Monday.
According to Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the US Secret Service, at around 6:15 p.m. ET, a suspected gunman fired numerous bullets at the stage from an elevated location outside the event site. The shooter was fatally shot by Secret Service personnel, according to the statement. According to the announcement, one spectator was murdered and two were gravely injured.
In a public statement, President Biden described the occurrence as “sick.”
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence; it’s sick,” he stated from Delaware. “We cannot allow this to happen.”
A White House official confirmed late Saturday that Biden spoke with Trump. Biden, who was in Delaware, was heading back to Washington. The official stated that he expects to receive an updated briefing from homeland security and law enforcement personnel.
A Biden campaign spokesperson stated that the team is suspending all outbound contacts and attempting to remove the television advertisements as soon as feasible.
Chris Takach, an attendee at the rally, told Oliver Morrison, a reporter for NPR member station WESA: “We were next to the speaker tower on the fence line, heard the shots, we heard ammunition, riddle around in metal, and then the hydraulic line on the speaker tower on the right side come down, and then everybody hit the deck, and then the cops all converged toward the right side of his body, Trump’s that is.”
Lawmakers respond to the Trump shooting.
Congressional leaders moved quickly.
“Praying for President Trump,” House Speaker Mike Johnson stated.
