One spectator was killed and two were critically hurt in Saturday's shooting.
Last updated: Wednesday, July 17, 2024 12:56AM GMT
Thomas Matthew Crooks told his father that he wanted to go to the gun range, so his dad let him use his AR-15-style rifle, sources say
Federal authorities are investigating after former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
Blood splattered on Trump's face as Secret Service agents surrounded him and led him off the stage to a waiting vehicle to whisk him away. Trump is "fine," a spokesperson said.
The alleged shooter was killed by snipers. Corey Comperatore, a firefighter and a father of two daughters, died in the shooting Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said. Two other people who attended the rally were also injured.
Timeline: How the Trump assassination attempt unfolded
Here's a a minute-by-minute timeline of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
ByPierre Thomas
Jul 15, 2024, 8:31 AM GMT
FBI investigation remains very active, still no motive
The FBI says its investigation into the assassination attempt on former Donald Trump remains very active.
An official who spoke to ABC News late Sunday night said that while the evidence currently points toward a lone wolf shooter, the FBI will not be comfortable until they fully exploit the suspect's phone and dig deeper into his life.
In a statement Sunday night, the FBI said in a statement it "continues to conduct logical investigative activity to determine if there were any co-conspirators associated with this attack."
Additionally, the FBI said a motive for the shooting still has not been identified.
Jul 15, 2024, 2:08 AM GMT
Trump will deliver 'whole different speech' at RNC after shooting
A day after being grazed by a bullet in an attempted assassination, former president Donald Trump said he plans to take advantage of the moment and deliver a message of unity to meet the moment.
"The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger," Trump said as he boarded his flight en route to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. "Honestly, it's going to be a whole different speech now."
"It is a chance to bring the country together. I was given that chance," Trump added.
A view of the convention floor before the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 14, 2024 in Milwaukee.
He said that many people from the political spectrum have called him over the past 24 hours and described the moment he turned his head on stage to look at the screen, which ultimately could have saved his life.
"That reality is just setting in," Trump said. "I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?"
The world has now seen the image of the former president raising his fist with blood on his ear, and Trump said he did that because he wanted the country to know he was going to be OK. He wanted the Pennsylvania crowd to know that "America goes on, we go forward, that we are strong."
Trump recalled, "The energy coming from the people there in that moment, they just stood there; it's hard to describe what that felt like, but I knew the world was looking. I knew that history would judge this, and I knew I had to let them know we are OK."
-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh
Jul 15, 2024, 2:00 AM GMT
Trump underwent a precautionary CT scan after shooting: Sources
Former President Donald Trump underwent a precautionary CT scan after he was shot on the upper ear during his campaign event Saturday, sources told ABC News.
The scan came back clear, sources said.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024.
Trump is in Milwaukee Sunday ahead of the Republican National Convention that begins Monday.
-ABC News' Aaron Katersky
Jul 15, 2024, 1:38 AM GMT
Suspected rally gunman was member of local shooting club
The man suspected of taking aim at former President Donald Trump Saturday night was a member of a local shooting club, counsel for the club confirms to ABC News.
Thomas Crooks belonged to Clairton Sportsmen's Club, in Clairton, Pennsylvania, roughly 12 miles south of Pittsburgh, which has a variety of shooting ranges.
"I can confirm that Mr. Crooks was a member of Clairton Sportsmen's Club," Robert S. Bootay III, attorney for the club, said in a statement.
"Beyond that, the Club is unable to make any additional commentary in relation to this matter in light of pending law enforcement investigations," Bootay continued.
"Obviously, the Club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence that occurred yesterday. The Club also offers its sincerest condolences to the Comperatore family and extends prayers to all of those injured including the former President," he said.
