BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump He called for unity and resilience after Sunday. Assassination attempt It has brought new uncertainty to an already troubled presidential campaign. President Joe Biden In the final stages, he pleaded with Americans to “keep calm” and “resolve our differences at the ballot box.”
The opposition’s comments came in the wake of attacks on the American political establishment that have brought at least a temporary detente to a heated presidential campaign that is expected to resume in earnest during the upcoming presidential election festivities. Republican National Convention.
The day after the shooting, The perpetrator’s motive Investigators believe he acted alone before being shot and killed by a Secret Service agent, and the circumstances remain a mystery. President Biden has ordered an independent investigation. Security Review Attack Killed a bystanderseriously wounding two others, and explaining how the shooter fire It was found on a rooftop near a Pennsylvania rally and the FBI was investigating. shooting as a possible act of domestic terrorism.
Trump, who is considered a potential Republican presidential nominee, said he had the top part of his right ear pierced. By bulletsAides said Trump was in “great spirits” and in good spirits. Trump arrived in Milwaukee on Sunday night for the party convention, which starts Monday. Trump told the Washington Examiner that he had rewritten his speech for the event, focusing on national unity rather than Biden’s policies.
“At this moment, it is more important than ever that we come together, show our true character as Americans, remain strong and resolute and do not let evil win,” Trump said in a post on his social media site on Sunday.
In a prime-time address, Biden urged the nation to resume civil debate. “There is no place in America for this kind of violence, any kind of violence. Never. Period. No exceptions,” he said. “We cannot allow this kind of violence to be normalized.”
President Trump spoke briefly Saturday night with former Vice President Biden, who addressed the shooting for the third time in a speech Sunday night.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the rally participant who died was the area’s former fire chief, Corey Comperatore, and that Comperatore “died a hero.”
“His wife told me he jumped in to protect his family,” Shapiro said. The two injured pedestrians were listed in stable condition.
The FBI is investigating the shooting as a possible domestic terrorist attack
The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the shooting scene.
The gunman was carrying his father’s AR-style rifle and was sitting on a nearby roof when several rally attendees pointed him out to local police, said two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal investigation.
Local police officers climbed onto the roof and found Crooks, who pointed a rifle at the officers. The officers climbed down the ladder and the gunman quickly opened fire on Trump, authorities said. That’s when a U.S. Secret Service gunman shot Crooks, authorities said.
Questions are swirling about how the gunman got close to the stage in the first place, and FBI Agent Kevin Rojek of the Pittsburgh FBI office said it was “amazing” that the gunman was able to fire shots onstage before the Secret Service shot him dead.
Authorities said bomb-making materials were found in Crooks’ car and at his home, and the FBI described the bomb-making equipment as “rudimentary.”
A motive remains unclear. Crooks was not under FBI surveillance and is believed to have acted alone. Investigators have exhausted his social media accounts but have not found any threatening statements or posts or communications suggesting an ideological motive. The suspect’s family is cooperating with the investigation. Relatives did not respond to messages seeking comment from The Associated Press.
Crooks’ political leanings are unclear — records show he is a registered Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but his federal campaign finance reports show he donated $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day Biden was sworn into office.
The lack of a clear ideological motivation only deepens questions about the shooting.
Biden asked Americans to be patient. “Please don’t speculate about his motives or his relationships,” he said.
The most serious assassination attempt since 1981
The attack was the most serious attempt ever to kill a president or presidential candidate. Ronald Reagan was shot The year was 1981. With the election less than four months away, the country drew new attention to concerns about political violence in a deeply divided United States.
FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said agents have seen an increase in violent rhetoric online since the rally, and that some people are impersonating the shooter online. He said the FBI is focusing on upcoming political conventions in Milwaukee and Chicago.
Biden on Sunday ordered a security review of the Republican National Convention’s operations, but the convention is proceeding as scheduled and the Secret Service said it is “confident” in its security plans and no additional changes are planned.
Biden said the two had a “brief but meaningful” conversation Saturday night after returning to Washington from his Delaware Beach home and meeting with leaders in the Situation Room about the raid.
Many Republicans blamed Biden and his allies for the violence, arguing that continued attacks on Trump as a threat to democracy have created a toxic environment.
It is unclear whether Biden will be forced to adjust his campaign to portray Trump primarily as a threat to democracy, something the United States has not seen since Teddy Roosevelt was shot a month before the 1912 election while campaigning to retake the White House as a third-party candidate.
Rally interrupted by gunfire
When the shooting began just after 6:10 p.m. on Saturday, Trump was showing off a graph showing how many people had crossed the border.
As the first note rang out, Trump said “Oh,” put his hand over his right ear and looked at it before quickly dropping to the ground, as screams rang out and people in the stands behind him also dropped to the ground.
As agents rushed onto the stage, someone could be heard near a microphone saying, “Get down, get down, get down, get down!” Agents swarmed over Trump to protect him while others took positions on the stage to search for threats.
Then, someone can be heard saying “The shooter is down” several times, followed by someone asking “Can we move?” and “Is it safe?” and then someone giving the order “Let’s move.”
Trump was seen standing up a few minutes later, holding his bloodstained right hand up to his face, before pumping his fist in the air and appearing to say the word “fight” twice, prompting cheers and chants of “USA. USA. USA.”
Minutes later, Trump’s motorcade departed, and video shows him turning to face the crowd and raising his fist just before being loaded into his car.
The witness heard the gunshots and ducked for cover.
As the shooting began, “everyone was on their knees or face down,” said Dave McCormick, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, who was sitting to Trump’s right on stage.
A crowd reacts as U.S. Secret Service agents surround Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean J. Puskar)
McCormick said he saw Trump raise his fist, then turned around and realized someone in the audience behind the stage was being punched.
Emergency personnel were eventually able to remove the injured, McCormick said.
Reporters heard five or six gunshots, and many ducked under tables. After the first few explosions, the crowd seemed startled but not panicked. An Associated Press reporter described the sound as initially sounding like firecrackers or a car backfiring.
Once things had calmed down and it became clear that Trump would not be returning to speak, attendees began to file out. Police quickly ordered everyone out, with a Secret Service agent describing the scene as “like a crime scene.”
Republican Rep. Mike Kelly, who represents the area where the shooting occurred, rushed to the scene with his wife and grandchildren, just behind the injured Trump. “I’m at a loss as to what has happened to the United States of America and how it has happened,” Kelly said.
“I just wish people would be more calm,” he said. “Stop blaming somebody or trying to find somebody. Blaming is somewhere in the American psyche.”
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Colvin, Balsamo and Price reported from New York. Long and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Will Weissert, Michael Biesecker, Alanna Durkin Richer, Lisa Mascaro and Tara Kopp in Washington and Mark Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.
