Former President Donald Trump sustained an injury during the shooting at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. A gunman opened fire, resulting in the deaths of at least one attendee and the gunman himself, with two others critically wounded, according to the Secret Service.
Law enforcement sources disclosed that the assailant was positioned on a building rooftop adjacent to the rally venue. Authorities are treating the incident as an attempted assassination.
The shooter has been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania according to The New York Post. Crooks fired from a rooftop over 130 yards away at the Butler Farm Show grounds, with one bullet grazing former President Trump’s ear.
BREAKING: Thomas Matthew Crooks ID’d as the suspect who shot at Donald Trump at his PA rally.
Crooks was 20-years-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania which was about 40 miles south of the Butler rally.
An AR-15 was reportedly recovered at the scene.
Crooks was apparently shot… pic.twitter.com/D5GP6hVYWC
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 14, 2024
Crooks was fatally shot by Secret Service snipers and authorities later recovered an AR-style rifle at the scene. Crooks hailed from Bethel Park, located 40 miles south of the rally in Butler. The reasons for Crooks firing at the former president nominee are still unknown. Two Secret Service snipers can be seen scanning the area where the shots ultimately came from before Crooks opened fire. They immediately responded with shots of their own.
WATCH:
“During Former President Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on the evening of July 13 at approximately 6:15 p.m., a suspected shooter fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue. U.S. Secret Service personnel neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased,” the Secret Service announced in a press release. “U.S. Secret Service quickly responded with protective measures and Former President Trump is safe. One spectator was killed, and two spectators were critically injured. This incident is currently under investigation. and the Secret Service has notified the FBI.”
WATCH:
Trump confirmed that his ear was struck by a bullet in a Truth Social post. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.”
“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 wrote. The former president was released from the hospital shortly after 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday.
JUST IN: President Trump’s motorcade leaves hospital pic.twitter.com/yiMm62xEw5
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 14, 2024
This is a developing story