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Former President Trump Injured in Shooting

Former President Donald Trump (R) was shot and injured Saturday evening while speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump’s right ear was damaged, but his injuries are considered minor. One rally attendee was killed and two were critically injured. The shooter was killed at the scene by U.S. Secret Service agents.

Trump is the presumptive Republican Party nominee in the upcoming presidential election. He is expected to be formally nominated at the Republican National Convention, which starts tomorrow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Trump plans to speak at the convention as previously scheduled.

Video of the assassination attempt captured the sound of gunshots around 6:15 p.m. Trump immediately reached to the right side of his head, then dropped down behind the podium as Secret Service agents began rushing the stage. Moments later, after it was clear that the shooting had stopped, they lifted Trump to his feet and rushed him off stage. Trump looked shaken; there was a visible injury to his right ear and streaks of blood on his face. He was conscious, and raised a fist to the crowd as he was led to a nearby vehicle. Trump was treated at Butler Memorial Hospital and released later in the evening.

In a post on Truth Social at 8:42 p.m., Trump thanked the Secret Service and law enforcement for their rapid response, extended his condolences to the other victims, and said “nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead.” As to his injuries, he said, “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. 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.”

According to the Secret Service, the shooter fired multiple shots from an elevated position outside the venue. He was then “neutralized” (killed) by Secret Service snipers. Video from the scene showed the shooter’s body on the roof of a building owned by the AGR International Inc., a manufacturing firm headquartered in Butler. It is unclear why the Secret Service had not secured that facility, which was outside the security perimeter despite having a direct line-of-sight to the event stage.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which will be the lead investigative agency, has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect. Little is known about Crooks or his motives at this early stage. Media reports indicate he is registered as a Republican, but his only recorded political donations have been to groups that support Democrats. In states with formal party registration, it is not uncommon for people to be registered with a party they do not support, either because they have not updated a past registration or they wish to vote in a different party’s primaries as a “spoiler.”

President Joe Biden (D) spoke briefly from Delaware yesterday evening, saying he had been briefed on the situation, was glad Trump was not seriously injured, and unequivocally condemned political violence. Trump and Biden spoke by phone later in the evening.


Updates

The above article is now “final” and will not be updated (except to correct factual errors, if necessary). I will continue monitoring the story and add new information below as time permits.

  • July 14, 2024, 4:29 p.m.: New information today:
    • The rally attendee killed in the attack has been identified as Corey Comperatore, 50, a former firefighter from Sarver, Pennsylvania. Comperatore was reportedly attending the rally with his wife and one of his two daughters, and died while shielding them from fire.
    • The two rally attendees who were injured have been identified as David Dutch, 57, from New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, from Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Both are now listed in stable condition.
    • The semi-automatic rifle that Crooks used in the attack was reportedly owned by his father and had been legally purchased.
    • Media outlets, citing anonymous law enforcement sources, report that “suspicious canisters or containers” were found in Crooks’s car. It appears that the car and Crooks’s home were processed by a bomb squad. It is unclear if any explosives or incendiary devices were found.
  • July 15, 2024, 9:31 p.m.: A few updates, but not much . . . :
    • The Secret Service reportedly delegated responsibility for securing this rooftop, and other areas outside the security perimeter, to local law enforcement. Local law enforcement officials, however, say the Secret Service was responsible for all security, including outside the venue.
    • There are unconfirmed reports that a law enforcement officer climbed to the roof to confront the shooter. The shooter allegedly pointed his rifle at the the officer, who ducked below the roof to avoid possible fire. The shooter apparently began firing at Trump before the officer could take further action.
  • July 20, 2024, 10:22 p.m.:
    • The scale of the U.S. Secret Service’s failure becomes more evident each day. They and other law enforcement agencies had multiple opportunities to prevent this from happening, and failed at every step. They and the FBI have also been too slow to provide clear, honest updates about their investigations.
    • The Trump campaign today released an update on his condition from Representative Ronny Jackson (R-TX 13th), a medical doctor who served as physician to the president under President Barack Obama (D) and Trump. According to Jackson:
      • “The bullet [came] less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head, and struck the top of his right ear. The bullet track produced a 2 [centimeter] wide wound that extended down to the cartilaginous surface of the ear. There was initially significant bleeding, followed by marked swelling of the entire upper ear. The swelling has since resolved, and the wound is beginning to granulate and heal properly. . . . There is still intermittent bleeding requiring a dressing to be in place. Given the broad and blunt nature of the wound itself, no sutures were required.”

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.