Former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt on Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania, days before he accepted the Republican nomination for a third time. A burst of gunfire sparked panic, and a bloodied Trump, who said he was shot in the ear, was surrounded by Secret Service agents and rushed to his SUV as he pumped his fists in defiance.
Trump’s campaign said the presumptive Republican nominee was “fine” after the shooting, which he said struck him above his right ear.
“I knew something was wrong when I heard the whistling, the gunshot, and immediately felt the bullet penetrate my skin. There was a lot of blood coming out,” he wrote on his social media page.
Early Sunday morning, the FBI named Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as a person of interest in the killing. The agency said the investigation is ongoing.
One attendee was killed and two spectators were seriously injured, authorities said. All were identified as men. The Secret Service said it had killed the suspected shooter — who they said attacked from an elevated position outside the rally site, a farm show in Butler, Pennsylvania — and said Trump was safe.
At a news conference late Saturday, the FBI said it was not ready to release the shooter’s identity and had not yet determined a motive for the shooting.
The attack was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. It has brought renewed attention to concerns about political violence in a deeply polarized America less than four months before the presidential election. And it could change the tone and security posture at the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday in Milwaukee.
Organizers say the conference will go ahead as planned.
Trump flew to New Jersey after visiting a local hospital in Pennsylvania, landing just after midnight at Newark Liberty International Airport. Video posted by an aide showed the former president disembarking from his private jet, flanked by U.S. Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counterstrike team — an unusual show of force by his security detail.
President Joe Biden, who is running against Trump, was briefed on the incident and spoke with Trump hours after the shooting, the White House said.
“There is no place for this kind of violence in America,” the president said in a public address. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”
Biden plans to return to Washington early, cutting short a weekend at his beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Many Republicans were quick to blame Biden and his allies for the violence, arguing that repeated attacks on Trump as a threat to democracy created a toxic environment. They specifically pointed to a comment Biden made to donors on July 8, saying “it’s time to take Trump to task.”
Much of the attention in the coming days will turn to the gunman and the security lapses. The gunman was not a protester and was killed by U.S. Secret Service agents, according to two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Officials said the shooter was attacked by members of the Secret Service’s counter-assault team. The heavily armed tactical team travels with the president and major party candidates everywhere and is tasked with confronting any ongoing threats while other agents focus on protecting and evacuating people at the security center.
Law enforcement recovered an AR-style rifle at the scene, according to a third person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
An AP analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos from the Trump rally, as well as satellite imagery of the site, shows the shooter was able to get very close to the stage where the former president was speaking. A video posted to social media and geolocated by the AP shows the body of a person wearing gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a building at AGR International Inc., a manufacturing plant just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump’s rally took place.
The rooftop where the man was lying was less than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance at which a skilled marksman can hit a man-sized target. For reference, 150 meters is the distance at which a U.S. Army recruit must hit a man-sized silhouette to qualify for the M-16 rifle. The AR-15, like the one used by the gunman at Trump’s rally, is a semi-automatic civilian version of the military M-16.
Asked at the press conference whether law enforcement knew the shooter was on the roof until he started shooting, Kevin Rojek, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office, replied that “that’s our assessment at this point.”
He added that it was “surprising” that the gunman was able to open fire on stage before being killed by Secret Service.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who oversees the Secret Service, said officials were involved with the Biden and Trump campaigns and “took every possible measure to ensure their safety and security.”
A protest was interrupted by gunfire.
Trump was showing off a chart of border crossings when gunfire began after 6:10 p.m.
As the first explosion rang out, Trump said, “Oh,” and raised his hand to his right ear and looked at it, before quickly ducking to the ground behind his podium. Those in the audience behind him also ducked as screams echoed through the crowd.
Someone near the microphone could be heard saying, “Get down, get down, get down, get down!” as agents rushed onto the stage. They crowded around the former president to shield him with their bodies, as was their training, while other agents took up positions on the stage, looking for threats.
Screams rang out through the crowd of thousands. One woman screamed louder than the rest. Then there were shouts of “gunner down” several times, before someone asked “can we move now?” and “are we safe?” Then someone ordered, “Let’s move.”
In the video, Trump can be heard saying at least twice, “Let me get the shoes, let me get the shoes,” along with another voice saying, “I got you.”
Trump stood up a few minutes later and could be seen raising his right hand toward his bloodied face. He then raised his fist in the air and appeared to mumble the word “Fight” twice to a crowd of supporters, prompting cheers and chants of “USA. USA. USA.”
The crowd cheered as he stood up and raised his fist.
His motorcade left the venue just minutes later. Video shows Trump turning to the crowd and raising his fist just before he was ushered into his car.
Witnesses heard several gunshots and ducked for cover.
“Everybody was down on their knees or on their stomachs because we all knew, everyone was aware that this was gunfire,” Dave said. McCormickRepublican candidate for the US Senate in Pennsylvania, who sat to Trump’s right on stage.
McCormick said when he saw Trump raise his fist, he looked over his shoulder and noticed someone being hit while sitting in the audience behind the stage.
Eventually, first responders were able to get the injured man away from the large crowd so he could receive medical attention, McCormick said.
Reporters covering the protest heard five or six gunshots, and many people ducked for cover, hiding under tables. After the first two or three shots, people in the crowd appeared startled but not panicked. An AP reporter at the scene said the initial noise sounded like firecrackers or perhaps a car explosion.
When it became clear that Trump would not return to speak, attendees began to leave the venue. One man in an electric wheelchair became stuck on the field when his battery died. Others tried to help him move.
Police quickly ordered the remaining people to leave the location and agents told reporters to “get out now. This is a live crime scene.”
Two firefighters from Steubenville, Ohio, who were at the protest told the AP they helped people who appeared to be injured and heard gunshots coming from the loudspeaker.
“Shots went off around the arena, one hit the speaker tower and then chaos broke out. We fell to the ground and then the police converged on the arena,” said Chris Takach.
“The first thing I heard was a couple of cracks,” said Dave Sullivan.
Sullivan said he saw one of the speakers get hit and the bullets clattered, “we fell to the floor.”
As the Secret Service and other authorities converged on Trump, he and Takach assisted two people who may have been shot on the stage and cleared a path to get them out, he said.
“This is truly a sad day for America,” Sullivan said.
“After we heard the gunshot, then the hydraulic line was spraying everywhere, you could see hydraulic fluid coming out of it. And then the speaker tower started to fall down,” Sullivan said. “Then we heard another gunshot, you could hear, you know what it was, it was a bullet. Not a firecracker.”
Political violence shakes America again
The dangers of campaigning became more acute after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in California in 1968, and again in 1972 when Arthur Bremer shot and seriously wounded George Wallace, who was running as an independent on a campaign platform that was sometimes compared to Trump’s. That led to increased protection for candidates, even as threats continued, notably against Jesse Jackson in 1988 and Barack Obama in 2008.
Presidents, especially since the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, have had more layers of security. Trump is rare in being both a former president and a current candidate.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Senator JD Vance, the three men on Trump’s short list for vice president, were all quick to issue statements expressing concern for the former president, with Rubio sharing an image taken as Trump was escorted off stage with his fist raised and a smear of blood on his face along with the words “God protect President Trump.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said in a statement on X that he had been informed of the situation and that Pennsylvania state police were at the protest site.
“Violence directed at any political party or political leader is completely unacceptable. It has no place in Pennsylvania or the United States,” he said.
