trump rally shooting Live
By Intelligencer Staff
Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. At approximately 6:11 p.m., a volley of gunshots rang out and Trump was struck on his upper right ear. He pumped his fist in the air following the attack as Secret Service agents worked to rush him from the stage. A Trump spokesperson later reported his condition as “fine.” The Secret Service said it killed the gunman, who was firing from a nearby rooftop. One audience member was killed, and two others were critically injured. Below are live updates on this developing story.
Copied
Chas danner
AP photographer Evan Vucci describes what he saw, did during the shooting
Copied
Justin Miller
Congressman: Would-be assassin was well within range to easily shoot Trump
Cory Mills, a Republican congressman and U.S. Army veteran, explained on CNN how close the would-be assassin was. The military-style rifle fired from a rooftop about 200 yards from Trump’s position is “nothing for a shot,” Mills said, adding that at such a range bullets would strike a target within a 2-inch circle — much smaller than the profile of Trump’s head or his torso.
A veteran sniper, Mills was asked if the assassin was a good shot. “He wasn’t, and that’s the thing that saved the president.”
Copied
Chas danner
FBI identifies shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks
Early Sunday morning, the FBI identified the suspected gunman as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, which is about 40 miles from where the rally was held.
Copied
Chas Danner
The stunning security failure
The security protocol for attendees was reportedly the same as it has been for other Trump rallies, including a ban on weapons and requiring attendees to submit to security checks and to walk through metal detectors before entering the rally. But the shooter appears to have set up on the roof of a building outside that secure area for attendees. Nonetheless, it’s not clear how he was able to do that while escaping the notice of Secret Service personnel and others.
NBC News talked to some security experts about what might have gone wrong:
Security experts said it was difficult, and perhaps impossible, to eliminate every threat, particularly with long-range weapons and outdoor events.
Butsome said routine precautions should have prevented the shooter from getting onto the nearby roof.
Steve Nottingham, a former SWAT commander in Long Beach, California, called Saturday’s shooting “a fundamental security failure.”He has worked security details for visiting world leaders, including presidents, and now trains officers on how to respond to critical incidents. He pointed at likely breakdowns in the pre-event scouting and real-time monitoring of places a gunman could shoot from.“They were behind the curve, because they should have had those places covered ahead of time,” Nottingham said.
Jim Cavanaugh, a retired special agent in charge with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who has been on Secret Service details, said he was surprised that the shooter was able to occupy an elevated position within rifle range of the rally site. “Whenever I’ve been with them, every single high ground is taken by them or the local SWAT police,” Cavanaugh said. “There’s nobody allowed walking on rooftops. They command the high ground.” He said a high-powered rifle like an AR-15 can hit targets 200 yards away. Trump was about 148 yards from the rooftop where the shooter was found dead, NBC News found, based on an analysis of Google Earth images.
Copied
Chas Danner
Trump campaign releases video of Trump stepping off his plane in New Jersey
Copied
Chas Danner
FBI calls attack an assassination attempt, does not ID shooter, motive
In a late press conference overnight Saturday, special agent Kevin Rojek said that the FBI had “tentatively identified” the suspected shooter, but that “at this time we are not prepared to identify who the shooter is — we are close to an identification.”
“We do not currently have an identified motive,” he said.
He also said that the “Secret Service wasn’t available for the press conference at this time” — and acknowledged that “it is surprising” the shooter was able to fire several rounds, and said, as to how it was possible for him to get that close to Trump, “the Secret Service needs to answer that question.”
At the same press conference, State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said that the Secret Service was responsible for surveying the venue.
Copied
Chas Danner
Shooter likely fired 8 shots, according to an audio analysis
The New York Times visual investigations team reports:
The audio analysis of the gunshots conducted by The Times and Robert C. Maher, a gunfire acoustics expert at Montana State University in Bozeman, indicates that two bursts of shots were fired. Both the first round of three and the second of five shots were fired approximately 330 to 390 feet from the C-SPAN microphone Mr. Trump was speaking into. That location was consistent with the location of the suspect’s body. There was no significant difference between the sound of the eight shots, which suggests that they likely came from the same firearm, Mr. Maher said.
Copied
Chas Danner
Trump aides always feared this would happen
According to Semafor’s Shelby Talcott:
A close Trump confidant first mentioned to me in the summer of 2022 their fear that the former president would face an attempt on his life. The person suggested the attack was inevitable: it was not a matter of “if,” but “when.”
Since then, I’ve heard the concern spoken more times than I can count in conversations covering the Trump campaign. The idea among many close to Trump is this: That the opposing side’s hatred of him is so strong that it would spur on an attempt against his life. Some even speculated darkly, and without evidence, that his political opponents would make the attempt. …
I’ve spoken to my editors periodically over the last two years over how to responsibly report on the fears in Trump’s circle. At the time it was a quiet sense of danger, without any clear changes to the security posture around the former president. We also felt that raising the prospect could, in some sense, increase the risk. In fact one Trump ally told me that the campaign was irritated when they speculated in public about the possibility.
Copied
Chas Danner
Butler mayor says city was minimally involved in rally security
Mayor Bob Dandoy offered his perspective on the logistics in a Facebook post
The rally for President Trump was held at the Butler farm showgrounds which is actually outside of the city. We did have some law-enforcement there to help with security. All of our people are OK and have heard nothing otherwise about any of the law enforcement officers.
Butler is a small town and not surprisingly, as mayor, I was not in the loop with major security concerns for President Trump. I’m not on the Secret Service speed-dial. Much of what I’ve learned, I’ve learned as you have; there’s not a lot I can tell you it’s more than what you’re getting through the media.
Certainly, we’re dismayed and shocked. No matter what our political stance may be, these were people who were engaged in their right to assemble, exercising their right to free speech. We must remember that any attack on these rights is an attack on all of our rights. This type of violence is unacceptable.
Copied
Chas Danner
An overhead view of where the shooter was at the rally
Per NBC News, the shooter was about 148 yards from Trump. Video footage has also shown Secret Service snipers set up on one of the rooftops behind the stage.
Copied
Ben Jacobs
Allegheny General Hospital spokesperson says two victims remain in critical condition
The patients, who were both injured at the Trump rally in Butler, were flown in by Lifeflight and are being treated in the hospital’s trauma center.
Copied
Chas danner
House GOP leaders vow to probe how Secret Service handled rally security
Both Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise have announced they will launching an investigation:
Copied
Chas Danner
Biden spoke with Trump
Per a White House official, tonight the president spoke with Trump, Pennsylvania GovernorJosh Shapiro, andButler Mayor Bob Dandoy. Biden is returning to the White House tonight, and will be briefed again on the investigation in the morning.
Copied
Chas Danner
The FBI has taken lead role in the investigation
The agency says in a statement that it has now “assumed the role of the lead federal law enforcement agency” in the investigation into the shooting. It has also asked for anyone with information that may assist with the investigation to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Copied
ben jacobs
‘I held and tried to stop the bleeding’
Rico Elmore, a city councilman from Rochester, Pennsylvania, was in the the VIP section when the shooting started. It took “a split second to recognize the gunshots … so I heard the first shot go out and I thought that’s someone messing around or something. And then, the second one, and in a split second, thoughtThis is real. And my first instinct is everyone around me needs to get down. I yelled everyone to get down and at the people in the stands to get down.”
Elmore saw another rally attendee had been shot and immediately rendered aid. “I’m not a medic but I was in military and took my jacket off and took my tie off and ran and jumped over the barrier and tried to render aid.”
“I held the back of his head — I don’t know it was the back of his head where he was hit, it may have been the front and went out the back — but I held and tried to stop the bleeding until the medics came and and I found out he didn’t make it,” Elmore said.
Copied
Chas Danner
Reporter at rally says some rally attendees immediately turned on media
Things got ugly fast:
Copied
Chas Danner
What we know about the victims
So far, authorities have only confirmed that one audience member at the Trump rally was killed and two others were critically injured. Their identities have not been released.
Copied
Justin Miller
Trump’s campaign wants Democrats ‘held accountable’
Chris LaCivita, the Trump campaign’s co-manager, added to the pile-on against Joe Biden and the Democrats coming from the right, implicitly blaming them for the shooting:
Copied
Chas danner
Merrick Garland says DOJ’s National Security Division is helping with investigation
The attorney general said in a statement that “the Justice Department will bring every available resource to bear to this investigation”:
I have been briefed on the shooting at former President Trump’s rally, and have briefed the President. The FBI, ATF, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and the Department’s National Security Division are currently working with the Secret Service as well as state and local law enforcement partners on the ground in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Worth noting:
Copied
Chas Danner
AR-style rifle reportedly recovered at scene
As is so often the case with high-profile shootings in America, the Associated Press reports that an AR-style rifle was recovered by authorities.
Copied
Chas Danner
Here come the conspiracy theories
The New York Times takes note of the near-instant deluge of baseless speculation online:
Without providing proof, the social media posts blamed shadowy figures on the left for targeting Mr. Trump, and built on ideas circulated by Mr. Trump that the “deep state,” or a cabal within the government, was seeking to stop him from returning to office. The unverified claims surfaced on platforms including Gab, Truth Social and Parler, which are favored by the far-right, as well as on X, Telegram, Facebook and Instagram. …
Some social media accounts said that a gunman with ties to the “deep state” had opened fire and shot Mr. Trump. Without citing evidence, the accounts also blamed government agencies such as the F.B.I. and the Centers for Disease Control for targeting Mr. Trump. …
Others claimed on social media that any shooter was a member of the far-left Antifa group, or was acting on behalf of transgender individuals. None of the posts provided evidence for their theories.
Copied
Margaret Hartmann
Trump supporters are already blaming Biden
Though the shooter’s identity and motives are still unknown, many Trump supporters, including at least two Republican congressmen, said Biden, the Democratic Party, and the mainstream media are to blame.
Some, like Representative Ronny Jackson, said the left tacitly encouraged violence against Trump by vilifying him throughout his political career:
Trump’s potential VP picks are making similar statements:
But Representative Mike Collins actually accused Biden of ordering an assassination attempt against Trump. He cited a report that Biden used the phrase “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye” during a call to donors on July 8.
Though, in retrospect, this is an unfortunate choice of words by Biden, it’s clear he was speaking metaphorically, not urging donors to literally shoot his opponent. Trump is known forrepeatedlyusingviolentrhetoric and even shrugging off the January 6 mob’s “hang Mike Pence” chant as “common sense.”
Copied
Margaret Hartmann
Ivanka’s statement on the shooting
Donald Trump’s eldest daughter posted a message to Instagram and Twitter thanking people for their support after her father’s shooting. She concluded, “I love you Dad, today and always.”
Ivanka served in her father’s administration for four years butannouncedon the night Trump launched his reelection campaign that she does not plan on being involved in politics going forward. Since then, she hassaid little publicly about politics, aside from sporadically expressing her love for her father on Instagram.
Copied
Justin Miller
The bullets as they flew
Doug Mills, a photographer for the New YorkTimes, actually captured the bullets flying by Trump:
Copied
Justin Miller
Secret Service: Gunman fired from roof
In a statement released just before 9 p.m., the Secret Servicesaidthat “a suspected shooter fired multiple shots towards the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue.” A video shared on social media soon after the shooting purports to show the gunman lying dead on a nearby rooftop:
The USSS also said that one spectator was killed and two critically injured during the attack.
Copied
Ben Jacobs
What the local Republican leader saw
James Hulings, the chair of the Butler County Republican Party, said he was about 40 feet from Trump, seven rows from the front of the stage, when he heard gunfire from his left. “I heard first three shots, bap bap bap, and the Secret Service guys all rushed onstage and took Donald Trump down and covered him up and then two more shots and maybe some more shots,” he said.
Hulings remained watching the bleachers to his left where someone was shot. “They told us to get down, but I didn’t get down, and, by the time everyone got down, there wasn’t any place on the ground, so I just stood there and stood on a chair and wanted to see what was going on.” He said he “stood there for a minute” but eventually the police were getting upset so he ducked down.
The newly elected county chair said that he was “absolutely sick” that such a horrific event had happened in his exurban community. “It’s very conservative,” he said. Hulings noted that in the town where he lives, “we have more churches than bars two to one.”
“We’re a conservative Christian people, we’re all going to be praying for Donald Trump,” he said.
Copied
Justin Miller
Trump confirms he was shot by a bullet
In his first statement following the attempt on his life, Trump confirmed he was shot by a bullet in the ear: “knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he said in part.
Photo: Screencap/Truth Social
Copied
Justin Miller
Biden says he has reached out to Trump
President Biden spoke to reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, at 8:15 p.m. — about two hours after the shooting.
“I tried to get a hold of Donald, he’s with his doctors. Apparently he’s doing well. I plan on talking to him shortly, I hope, when I get back to the telephone,” Biden said, adding that “everybody must condemn” political violence. He said he plans on issuing further updates later.
Copied
Margaret Hartmann
What Trump was saying right before the shooting
Trump spoke for about six minutes before shots rang out, delivering his standard rally speech. You can see the fullvideoon C-SPAN.
He started by commenting on the “big crowd” and lamenting that the “fake news” refused to turn the cameras around and show it because “nobody would believe it.” (Trump has been saying this for years, though the media regularly shows the size of his rally crowds.) Then Trump mocked Joe Biden, claiming only “93 people” showed up to one of his recent events.
Trump promised to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, who he falsely claims are largely from mental institutions and prisons. “We’ve got to bring our country back to health, because our country is going to hell, if you haven’t noticed,” he said. “Millions and millions of people are pouring in from prisons and from mental institutions. We’re going to stop it. We’re going to bring them back. We’re going to deport.”
Trump vowed to “defeat Crooked Joe Biden and Laffin’ Kamala Harris,” using his new nickname for the vice-president. And he claimed that he didn’t actually lose the last election.
“We did fantastically in 2016,” he said. “We did much better in 2020 and it was rigged, it was a rigged deal.”
Next Trump shouted out Republican Senate nominee David McCormick, who was in the crowd. He said his Democratic opponent, Senator Bob Casey, is “a real stiff” who “votes for Biden or whoever happens to be furthest left.”
Trump accused Biden of not understanding the meaning of “Make America Great Again,” joking that he’d be “at some beautiful place with a gorgeous ocean” if Biden “was doing the job.”
Finally, Trump pivoted back to claiming that “dangerous people,” “criminals,” and “drug dealers” are flooding into the country and had his team bring up a chart on illegal border crossings during his administration (which was not visible on the C-SPAN feed). Trump was discussing the chart when the first shots rang out. “And you know, that’s a little bit old, that chart,” he said. “That chart’s a couple of months old. If want to really see something that’s sad, take a look at what happened …”
Then Trump grabbed his ear and crouched down as he was hit.
Copied
ben jacobs
Butler County DA: Two bystanders shot
Richard Goldinger, the Butler County district attorney, said that one attendee is dead and a second is in serious condition. Goldinger, who was not at the Butler Farm Show where Trump was speaking before a large crowd, said people described a scene of “chaos” to him. The longtime prosecutor said the attempt on Trump’s life was “honestly somewhat embarrassing for my community.
“I am just happy that the president is going be okay and certainly offer my condolences to the individual who perished and pray that the individual with injuries will survive,” he said.
Copied
Gabriel Debenedetti
Biden says he’s ‘grateful’ Trump is safe: ‘There’s no place for this kind of violence in America’
The president said in a statement that he has been briefed on the shooting, which he strongly condemned:
I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.
Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.
A Biden campaign official says the campaign “is pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible.”
Copied
Nia Prater
Trump Tower security is being boosted as a precaution
New York City mayor Eric Adams says, “Out of an abundance of caution, the NYPD will be increasing its presence across the city, including at Trump Tower.”
Copied
Matt Stieb
Eyewitness describes seeing shooter set up and carry out attack
An eyewitness who spoke with the BBC claimed that he saw the sniper who shot at Trump set up outside the perimeter of the rally. The man, who had a beer in his hand, described a shooter in tan clothing climb onto a white roof outside the rally and “bear crawl” toward his position. “We could clearly see him with a rifle,” the witness said. He then began calling to nearby police and pointing out the man to Secret Service. “They didn’t know what was going on,” he said. A few minutes into Trump’s speech, the man claimed that he heard five shots from the rifle. After the gunfire ended, he claimed, “The Secret Service blew his head off.” Agents then approached the shooter’s position on the roof to confirm he was dead.
Copied
Chas danner
Obama: ‘We should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt’
The former president put out the following statement:
Copied
Chas danner
Pelosi: ‘I thank God that former President Trump is safe’
Copied
Nia Prater
Authorities investigating shooting as possible assassination attempt
Copied
Justin Miller
The moment Trump was hit
At approximately 6:11 p.m., a volley of at least three gunshots rang out as Trump delivered his campaign speech. He winced between the first and second shot, apparently hit, and reached his hand up to the right side of his face, then immediately ducked. Secret Service agents leaped onto the stage and threw their bodies over him as more bullets snapped through the air. After the gunfire ended, the agents hoisted Trump to his feet. “Let me get my shoes, let me get my shoes,” he told them, as they formed a human shield around him with their bodies. When he stood up, the top of his right ear was covered in dark-red blood, which trailed off in a line on the side of his face stopping just below his nose. As he moved offstage, Trump punched a fist into the air and pumped it, mouthing “Fight, fight, fight” to cheers from the crowd, which responded with “USA! USA! USA!”
Copied
Matt Stieb
ER physician describes trying to treat headshot victim in audience
One man who spoke to CBS News identified himself as an emergency-department physician and described someone who appeared to have been shot in the head. “They guy had spun around, was jammed between the benches. He had a headshot here [points to temple]. There was lots of blood and brain matter. The man said that he did CPR and chest compressions on the victim.
Copied
Matt Stieb
At least one audience member killed, shooter dead, says Butler County DA
Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger said in astatementthat one audience member was killed at the rally and that the shooter is dead, per the WashingtonPost.
Copied
ed kilgore
Other shootings in presidential campaign history
As we await more information, three previous incidents of presidential candidates being shot and wounded (or worse) come to mind. In October 1912, former president and Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt was shot during a speech in Milwaukee; legendarily, a copy of his speech kept the bullet from killing him, but it remained lodged in his body, and created a temporary wave of sympathy for the old Rough Rider. In June 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles the night he won a key presidential primary. And in May 1972, insurgent Democratic presidential candidate George Wallace was shot and severely wounded in a Maryland shopping center during a campaign appearance. Wallace survived, although he suffered severe injuries that consigned him to a wheelchair the rest of his life.
Copied
Margaret Hartmann
The scene before the shooting
Saturday’s rally at the Butler Farm Show complex in Butler, Pennsylvania, was Trump’s last scheduled public appearance before the start of the Republican National Convention on Monday. Thousands of his supporters turned out,according tothe PittsburghTribune, despite the 90-degree heat. Medics were called to tend to multiple people as rallygoers struggled with the lack of shade and water. Trump was set to take the stage at 5 p.m., but he was about an hour late.
Copied
Chas Danner
Trump is ‘fine’
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung has released a statement announcing that Trump is “fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility.” He also thanked “law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act.”
The Secret Service has released a statement confirming that Trump is safe:
Copied
Justin Miller
Biden’s first reaction
President Biden first heard the news of the Trump shooting when walking out of church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on vacation. When asked if he heard what happened,accordingto the Washington Post, he said “no” and returned to his residence.
Copied
Chas danner
Footage of Trump’s motorcade speeding away
Copied
Chas danner
Congressman in front row says multiple people in crowd may have been hit
Copied
Chas Danner
Video of the shooting and immediate aftermath
Here is footage of Trump onstage as the shots rang out, in the video you can see Trump appear to reach up and and touch his ear.
Trump was rushed offstage by Secret Service agents and had blood on his right ear. He pumped his fist in the air as they carried him off.
Copied
Ben Jacobs
Eyewitness saw bloodstains on clothing of people in bleachers
Saurabh Sharma, the President of American Moment, a right-wing nonprofit, toldNew Yorkthat he was standing at the rail in the front of the crowd when he heard what he described as “gunshot-like sounds,” though he noted that sounded “a little light” coming from stageright.
He said formerPresident Trump went down and was almost instantaneouslycoveredby the Secret Service. Sharma added that on the bleachers that were stage right, there seemed to be an injury. People had bloodstains on their clothing, and a body was carried out. Sharma said he did not see any bloodstains around the podium where Trump was speaking.
The crowd was told to duck afterward, though some people were peeking up despite being told to keep their heads down.
The people in the crowd remained mostly calm from what Sharma saw and filtered out slowly, taking their time. He did note that there “were definitely some women crying, saying, ‘They are trying to kill him.’”
Copied
Chas Danner
Photos show Trump with blood on his face
More politics
- Trumpism Must Be Defeated By Ballots, Not Bullets
- Joe Biden’s Most Important Power Base
- Republican Lawmakers Immediately Blame Biden for Trump Shooting
Tags:
- remove interruptions
- liveblog
- trump rally shooting
- donald trump
- politics
- early and often
- More
Show Leave a Comment
