Former President Donald Trump was shot in the right ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. The shooting, carried out from an elevated rooftop, also resulted in one death and critical injuries to two others. Trump was quickly taken to the hospital but later declared “fine” and still planning to attend the upcoming nominating convention. The FBI has identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, and is investigating the motive. President Biden condemned the violence and emphasized the need for a thorough investigation.
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By Hadriana Lowenkron and Jennifer Jacobs
Former President Donald Trump said he was shot in the right ear after gunfire erupted at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, a harrowing episode that shook the US presidential campaign and drew bipartisan condemnation of political violence.
In addition to Trump’s injury, another attendee at the rally was shot and killed while two other bystanders were in critical condition. The shooter, who fired from an elevated rooftop, was killed by the US Secret Service, law enforcement officials said.
The FBI identified the male suspect as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, according to a bureau statement cited by multiple media outlets. The incident is being treated as an assassination attempt, and a motive has yet to be determined.
The Trump campaign said he was “fine” and that he still planned to attend his party’s nominating convention next week in Milwaukee. In a post to his social media network, Trump extended his condolences to the family of the dead rally-goer and thanked law enforcement for their response.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social. “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.”
The chaotic and bloody scene — which unfolded with less than four months until the presidential election — was certain to reverberate loudly across a fractured and heated American political landscape strained repeatedly in recent years.
Trump was visiting swing-state Pennsylvania for his last rally before the convention and as he is preparing to announce his vice presidential pick.
In the shooting’s immediate aftermath, Trump’s supporters cheered images of the bloodied former president — who pumped his fist in defiance as he was being hurried from the stage. Trump was released from a local hospital Saturday night after being evaluated.
President Joe Biden delivered brief remarks from Delaware, condemning the shooting as “sick.”
“We cannot be like this, we cannot condone this,” Biden said. “Everybody must condemn it.”
Biden spoke with Trump following the incident, and cut short his weekend in Rehoboth Beach to return to the White House. His campaign said they were working to pull down television ads as soon as they can, according to an aide.
Asked if the shooting was an assassination attempt, Biden said he had an opinion but did not have enough facts to make that assessment. The president is expected to receive an updated briefing from homeland security and law enforcement officials Sunday morning in Washington, and spoke directly with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Bob Dandoy, the mayor of Butler, Pennsylvania, where the rally took place.
The Secret Service said in a statement that Trump was safe and that they had implemented protective measures.
The shooter was not found with identification, Kevin Rojek of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told reporters earlier, adding intelligence analysts were working on “any motives behind why this was done.”
All of the victims were adult males, according to investigators who briefed reporters.
The Justice Department’s national security division is also working with investigators, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter was outside the rally site in an interview with CNN.
The incident happened shortly after 6 p.m. New York time, just a few minutes after Trump began speaking on stage.
As the sound of gunshots rang out, Trump grasped his ear and then ducked. Agents used their bodies to cover Trump’s as the sound of more bullets cracked through the air, while a bystander screamed. Rally attendees dove to the ground, ducking for cover.
An agent indicated to Trump they were ready to move him — with the former president responding that he wanted to recover his shoes.
“Let me get my shoes. Let me get my shoes,” Trump said.
An agent then told him that his head was bloody. As he rose to his feet, he began shouting and pumping his fist repeatedly. Audience members roared their approval — chanting “USA! USA!” — as he was hustled off the stage, with one agent carrying his signature red hat. He was quickly ushered into his SUV and taken for a medical evaluation.
Lawmakers from both parties called for an investigation into the shooting and any security missteps.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said he had already contacted the Secret Service seeking a briefing and would call on the agency’s director to appear for a hearing.
US Representative Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, said “the security failures surrounding the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate demand an investigation,” in a post on X.
Sid Miller, the Texas agriculture commissioner, said he was about thirty feet from the president when the shooting started. He initially believed a balloon had popped before realizing it was gunshots.
“I turned to look at the president, and he appeared to have the same puzzled look that I had,” Miller said in an interview.
David McCormick, the former Bridgewater Associates chief executive officer turned Republican Senate candidate, was at the rally. McCormick said he heard a series of seven or eight shots and said someone behind him in the audience had been hit.
“People around this gentleman were trying to administer first aid, and he was clearly — this person was clearly injured, seems severely,” he said in an interview with CNN. “There was a lot of blood.”
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