Authorities are investigating how the gunman got there. Climb to the top of a building and shoot former President Donald TrumpPolice received a report of a suspicious man, and witnesses pointed to and shouted at an armed man on a rooftop near where Trump was speaking.
Trump and two others were injured in the assassination attempt. Former Fire ChiefCorey Comperatore, 50, was killed while trying to protect his family. A congressional investigation has also been opened, in addition to an investigation ordered by President Joe Biden.
Here’s what we know so far about the attempted assassination of President Trump and its aftermath.
Police had clues that something was wrong before the shooting.
Trump rally crowd He noticed a man who was later identified as Thomas Matthew Crookes Crookes. He was wandering around outside the metal detectors at the event venue when police were notified of his behavior. Witnesses later pointed to a man with an AR-type rifle on a roof and yelled, “Hey, come on! Let’s go!”
A Butler Township police officer encountered the gunman on the roof before the shooting and, as he was searching for any suspicious activity, another officer helped him grab the edge of the roof.
The officer then fell to the ground, injured in the ankle, and seconds after Officer Crooks fired his AR at the former president, a sniper shot and killed the officer.
Experts said the shooting came after an “absolute and dismal failure” by the Secret Service.
At least a dozen police officers and sheriff’s deputies were assisting the U.S. Secret Service and Pennsylvania State Police in providing security for the rally.
Stan Kephart, a former police chief who provided security for events for both former presidents, said the shooting was the result of an “absolute and dismal failure” of the Secret Service to protect Trump, adding that the agency is ultimately responsible for the safety of candidates.
“You can’t blame other people. They’re in your control,” said Kephart, now a consulting expert on law enforcement event security.
Elected officials launch multiple investigations
President Joe Biden has ordered an independent investigation into the assassination attempt, including into security at the rally, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he has “full confidence” in the Secret Service’s leadership but acknowledged the gunman should never have reached that dangerous position.
President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Sunday, July 14, 2024, about the attempted assassination of former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via The Associated Press, Pool)
A congressional committee also launched an investigation, expressing concern that the would-be assassin was able to fire from a rooftop within 135 metres (147 yards) of the former president.
The first hearing is scheduled for July 22, when Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
The FBI is investigating the attack as a possible act of domestic terrorism.
The FBI Possible domestic terrorist actBut the FBI has not identified a clear ideological motive and believes Crooks, who drove to the rally with bomb-making materials in a car, acted alone with a gun purchased by his father.
The FBI said Monday that analysts had accessed the shooter’s cellphone, but a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity said the phone did not provide any meaningful information about a potential motive.
The official also said investigators believe Crooks purchased 50 rounds of ammunition on the day of the attack.
The FBI conducted nearly 100 interviews with law enforcement officials, rally attendees, and other witnesses, and received hundreds of tips from digital media.
Trump appears at the convention with a bandaged ear
Two days after surviving Assassination attempt, Former President He showed up on the first night of the Republican National Convention on Monday with a bandage over his right ear.
Republican delegates cheered as a visibly emotional Trump appeared on a backstage screen and entered the arena as country singer Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA,” hours after he was formally nominated as the Republican front-runner for November’s presidential election. Biden.
Trump, flanked by Secret Service agents, did not speak at the event, but instead smiled quietly and waved occasionally as Greenwood sang. He eventually joined the newly announced running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vanceto hear the rest of the speeches that night.
The convention resumes on Tuesday with a focus likely to shift to immigration, an issue central to Trump’s political brand and which helped him win over Republicans when he first began his campaign in 2015.
