This is a developing story.
BUTLER, Pa. — Federal authorities said late Saturday they were investigating a shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania as an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday left one rally attendee and the suspected gunman dead, and two other spectators critically injured, the Secret Service said in a statement.
The FBI early Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, located about an hour’s drive from the site. The gunman was a registered Republican, his mother was a Democrat and his father a Libertarian, a fairly typical mix for the area, said Dan Grzybek, who represents the area on the county council.
The gunman did not have a criminal history reflected in Pennsylvania’s public court records, and officials said they had not identified a motive. A voter-registration record showed Mr. Crooks’s Republican registration, though federal campaign-finance records show he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberal voter turnout group, through the Democratic donation platform ActBlue in January 2021.
Investigators “are working tirelessly” to determine a motive, Kevin Rojek, a special agent in the FBI’s Pittsburgh’s field office, said at a news conference late Saturday.
After the apparent sound of gunshots at the rally, Trump was escorted off the stage bleeding from around his ear. He was later rushed to a hospital, the Secret Service said.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, that he had been “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”
President Joe Biden gave a brief televised statement after the incident, condemning the violence as “sick.” The White House later said the president had spoken to Trump. The suspected shooter has not been identified, but authorities recovered an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle at the scene from a deceased man they believe was the shooter, according to two law enforcement officials.
In his social media post, Trump thanked law enforcement officers for their quick response to the shooting and offered condolences to the family of the spectator who had been killed. In his social media post, he wrote, “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 Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies have not yet publicly confirmed that Trump was shot in the ear, saying only that shots were fired and that the former president was “safe.”
Biden expressed gratitude that Trump had been swiftly evacuated and said “there’s no place in America for this kind of violence.”
Biden’s campaign said in a statement Saturday night that it would pause “all outbound communications” and was working to “pull down our television ads as quickly as possible.” The move reflects a desire to put politics aside while the crisis of a likely assassination attempt on a presidential candidate plays out.
Officials said the episode was being investigated as an assassination attempt. Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, said the shooter fired “multiple shots toward the stage” and was on “an elevated position” outside the rally venue. Those who attend Trump’s campaign rallies are subject to security screenings and their belongings are searched for weapons. There are also typically law enforcement officials stationed on nearby rooftops when possible.
Trump had been showing supporters a chart of numbers about border crossings just minutes into his speech when shots rang out in two bursts. He ducked quickly after the noises began and as members of the crowd began to scream. He then was rushed off the stage by Secret Service agents. As he was escorted to his motorcade, Trump, whose face and right ear were bloodied, pumped his fist in a defiant gesture to the crowd. After he departed, a group of officials in camouflage escorted someone off a set of bleachers to the left of the stage.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said in a statement that he had been briefed and that state police were on the scene working with federal partners. The FBI announced that it would lead the investigation, with assistance from the Secret Service and state and local law enforcement agencies.
Republicans and Democrats alike were quick to condemn what they viewed as an apparent act of political violence. “I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 House Republican, who was shot in 2017, said that “there is never any place for political violence.”
The Republican National Convention, where Trump will be formally nominated as his party’s presidential candidate, will proceed as planned in Milwaukee starting Monday, according to a statement from the Trump campaign and RNC officials.
• Campbell Robertson, Jack Healy, Katie Benner and Adam Goldman contributed to this story.
