An assassination attempt occurred Saturday at an outdoor Pennsylvania rally for President Donald Trump. The shooter, positioned on a rooftop outside the venue, opened fire, resulting in a grazing injury to President Trump and the death of a rally attendee.
Here’s a remarkable image of (likely) a another bullet that almost struck President Trump:
According to the Secret Service, the shooter was “neutralized,” but according to other officials, it is unclear whether his death was self-inflicted or at the hands of law enforcement. An eyewitness, however, claims the Secret Service “blew his head off” only after President Trump was shot, and after ignoring repeated warnings that a shooter was on the roof:
Multiple sources, including the Pennsylvania Butler County District Attorney, Richard Goldinger, have confirmed this eyewitness report that the shooter was on a building adjacent to the property, using a rifle to fire from several hundred yards away from President Trump. District Attorney Goldinger also suggested that the dead shooter has yet to be identified because of a chaotic crime scene. He reported to CNN that “it’s really crazy right now.” Assuming the accuracy of the eyewitness report, the trauma to shooter’s head is likely contributing to the difficulty in identifying him (see the update below on the shooter’s alleged identity).
Here’s a video of the apparent shooter firing on Trump:
Here is another video from a rally-goer showing the apparent body of the shooter on the roof of a metal building:
Another rally-goer took a video of Trump supporters yelling, “He’s got a gun, he’s got a gun!!!” before shots rang out. You may access that video on X HERE.
Here’s a video of the Secret Service attempting to engage the shooter:
President Joe Biden, briefed by key security officials, supposedly expressed relief at Trump’s safety. International leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, extended their support and prayers.
In response to the shooting, the New York City Police Department heightened security at Trump Tower and other significant locations. Given Biden’s apparent dementia, Vice President Kamala Harris, returning from a campaign stop, was also briefed on the incident.
The Biden campaign has halted its largely ineffectual TV ads following the shooting, and condemned the violence.
Former President George W. Bush called the attack a “cowardly” act, but went on to commend the Secret Service despite the agency’s obvious failure in keeping President Trump safe. Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, called the agency’s conduct at the rally “an abysmal failure.”
Senator JD Vance, a leading contender for President Trump’s Vice President, places the blame for today’s events squarely on Biden:
Here’s Donald Trump’s statement on the assassination attempt, texted to supporters at 9:45 EST, this evening:
I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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.
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!
Donald J. Trump
45th President of the United States
______________________________________________________________________
Authorities Claim Shooter was 20-Year Old Pennsylvanian
By Social Links forJoe Marino and Katherine Donlevy. The gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump Saturday was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, sources told The Post.
Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pa., squeezed off shots — one of which grazed Trump in the ear — at an outdoor rally in Butler, just outside Pittsburgh.
Sources said Crooks was planted on a roof of a manufacturing plant more than 130 yards away from the stage at Butler Farm Show grounds.
He was killed by Secret Service snipers. An AR-style rifle was later recovered. Read more from this story about Trump shot HERE.
And from CNN:
Crooks 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.
When reached by CNN late Saturday night, Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, said he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking about his son.
The shooting: Crooks fired on Trump while perched on a nearby building rooftop outside the rally’s security perimeter, before being killed by Secret Service agents, according to law enforcement officials.
He didn’t have any identification on his body, so agents had to “run his DNA and get biometric confirmation,” Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said at a press conference Saturday night before Crooks was named.
