This story has been updated as of Sunday evening at 5:59 p.m.
Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump was shot at during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, with a bullet hitting his ear and causing visible injuries.
The Secret Service killed the shooter. One spectator was killed and two others were seriously injured. The FBI named Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, as the shooter and believe he acted alone.
Crooks, who graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, worked in a nursing home as a dietary aide. He had murky political leanings, a registered Republican despite having donated $15 to a progressive group on Jan. 20, 2021.
Firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed in the shooting. Comperatore was remembered as a hero who died after he used his body to shield his wife and daughter from the shots. David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, were injured.
Trump had been addressing the crowd for around five minutes when shots rang out. He seemed to grab at his right ear before he was told to duck by Secret Service agents who jumped on top of him.
Following the shots, Trump appeared to have blood on his face as he held up his fist and mouthed “Fight” at the crowd several times while being led away by his Secret Service detail. The crowd broke into a “USA” chant.
“During former President Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on the evening of July 13th at approximately 6:15 p.m., a suspected shooter fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue,” the Secret Service said in a statement. “The incident is currently under investigation and the Secret Service has formally notified the Federal Bureau of investigation.”
“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,” Trump said in his first statement after the incident, which he shared on Truth Social after being taken to be checked out by health professionals.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump 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.”
On Sunday, Trump said the shooting would not delay his arrival to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the Republican National Convention will be held this week. “Based on yesterday’s terrible events, I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin, and The Republican National Convention, by two days, but have just decided that I cannot allow a ‘shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Also on Sunday, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers asked the Secret Service and RNC officials to reconsider an earlier provision that would allow attendees to bring guns within blocks of the convention.
Reporters describe the shooting as it unfolded
CNN reported that pool reporters at the rally heard “a series of loud explosions or loud bangs,” followed by Secret Service agents rushing in to protect Trump. “The Secret Service went and immediately covered President Trump. Pool heard residual bangs afterward,” a press pool report read.
NBC’s Dasha Burns described the moment that shots rang out. “We were in the middle of all of this as this all transpired. We were getting off of the press riser, getting to the ground level where all of the attendees are on the grass here at this venue. We heard at first what I thought might have been fireworks. I even saw a little bit of smoke — wasn’t sure what was going on.”
“My producer Bianca and I then realized this might be something more serious,” she added. “We then got ourselves behind a barricade for safety. Trying to make sure our colleagues and peers around us were safe. Everyone ducked down. As you see in that video, the former president ducked down. Secret service came and protected him.”
“This is not something you are expecting when you are at an event like this. We get down on the ground. We hear those continued pop, pop, pop, pop, pops. They kept going. It felt like for a long time for those of us who were here on site,” Burns concluded.
CBS’s Scott MacFarlane commented, “Let me be unequivocal about something. This is a security failure of epic, historic proportions, that there was some type of explosive noise.”
Biden and other politicians rush to condemn violence
Following what appeared to be the attempted assassination of the former president, politicians and other notable public figures released a flood of statements in support of Trump and decrying the violence. President Biden made multiple statements following Trump’s shooting on both Saturday and Sunday, including delivering a primetime address from the Oval Office on Sunday evening.
In that address, Biden strongly condemned the attempted assassination of the former president while also calling out conservative violence, including the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol and the physical attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband.
On Saturday night, Biden had said in a statement on Trump, “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.”
Biden appeared live in front of press and cameras shortly after the statement was issued, offering further remarks.
“Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick,” the president said. “It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.”
Vice President Kamala Harris shared her relief that Trump was not seriously injured and condemned the act.
“Violence such as this has no place in our nation. We must all condemn this abhorrent act and do our part to ensure that it does not lead to more violence,” she said.
“There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy,” former President Barack Obama wrote. “Although we don’t yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics.”
Former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan delivered one of the most emotional responses, writing, “F–king unacceptable. Zero tolerance for violence of any sort. I pray the former President is ok and all attendees. I don’t give a s–t what ur politics are. The competition is at the ballot box, not with guns. Let’s pray for peace and nonviolence in America.”
However, some took the moment to go on the attack, notably far-right Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“Democrats wanted this to happen,” she wrote. “They’ve wanted Trump gone for years and they’re prepared to do anything to make that happen.”
She went on to list members of Congress who she said had cosponsored legislation to end the former president’s Secret Service protection.
“Why would they want that? You know the reason,” the representative continued. “Others may have been killed —innocent people that were there supporting President Trump and all they wanted was to Make America Great Again and they may have been murdered for it. Thank GOD Secret Service was there for Trump and everyone else at today’s rally.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, himself a former presidential candidate, issued a statement that read, “Political violence is absolutely unacceptable. I wish Donald Trump, and anyone else who may have been hurt, a speedy recovery.” He also opined in a Sunday interview that politics should be “boring” rather than having this heated rhetoric behind them.
Former presidential candidate and Biden transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg said, “In this horrible moment, encouraged to hear President Trump’s team indicate that the former president is doing well. An entire nation must speak with one voice today to completely and unequivocally reject all political violence.”
Elon Musk seized the moment to endorse Trump for president. In a short post shared on X that included video of Trump from after the shooting, “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.”
“Reports of the shooting in Pennsylvania are horrifying,” Rep. Liz Cheney wrote. “Violence of any kind has no place in American politics. We are grateful for the reaction of Secret Service and other law enforcement and pray for the former president and all those injured.”
Meghan McCain wrote, “Please join me and my family in immediately praying for our great nation and the entire Trump family.”
Misinformation rampant on social media following the shooting
Misinformation was a problem online in the hours that immediately followed the shooting. Paul Bartel, senior intelligence analyst at PeakMetrics, told the Associated Press that mentions of Trump increased up to 17 times the daily amount on social media. “We saw things like ‘The Chinese were behind it,’ or ‘Antifa was behind it,’ or ‘the Biden administration did it.’ We also saw a claim that the RNC was behind it,” he said.
“Everyone is just speculating. No one really knows what’s going on. They go online to try to figure it out.”
Anthony Guglielmi, the Chief of Communications for the United States Secret Service, denied rumors that Trump’s team had requested additional security that was not provided. “Theres an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo,” he wrote on X.
The Trump family speaks out
Members of Trump’s family issued their own statements in the hours that followed the shooting.
“America, the fabric of our gentle nation is tattered, but our courage and common sense must ascend and bring us back together as one,” Melania Trump began in a lengthy statement shared to social media.
“When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change. I am grateful to the brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband.”
“To the families of the innocent victims who are now suffering from this heinous act, I humbly offer my sincerest sympathy…”
“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion – his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration. The core facets of my husband’s life – his human side – were buried below the political machine…”
“We are all humans, and fundamentally, instinctively, we want to help one another. American politics are only one vehicle that can uplift our communities. Love, compassion, kindness and empathy are necessities.”
“And let us remember that when the time comes to look beyond the left and the right, beyond the red and the blue, we all come from families with the passion to fight for a better life together, while we are here, in this earthly realm,” she concluded.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka linked her mother’s death two years ago to the shooting in Pennsylvania. She tweeted, “Two years ago today, my mom passed away. I believe she was watching over Dad last night during the attempt on his life. I miss her every day and pray for the safety of the family and friends she left behind.”
Marla Maples, the mother of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, also tweeted her support. “We ask for prayers for my daughter’s father… prayers for her heart and all the family and all who know how he is leading on behalf of all of us….,” she wrote. “We stay together in our faith knowing that the path of God is the path. Those who want to stop him are in fear of the power of God. May Christ create an opening in the hearts of those who want to stop the Light and the souls of humanity.”
