Related Articles
-Editorial
In an event that has sent shockwaves across the nation, former United States President Donald Trump was injured in a shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooting marked the first instance of a former or current U.S. president being injured in an assassination attempt since Ronald Reagan in 1981, and the first time a presidential candidate had been injured since George Wallace in 1972.
A bullet struck Trump’s upper right ear, prompting him to briefly touch the wound with his right hand before dropping to the ground. Secret Service agents quickly lunged toward Trump, shielding him from further harm. After about 25 seconds, he rose with blood on his ear and face and then raised his fist, cheers and chants of “U-S-A!” from the crowd erupted. Trump was subsequently escorted to a vehicle and taken to a nearby hospital.
Three adult male rally-goers were hit in the shooting, resulting in one death and two critical injuries. One of the injured was seated in the left-hand bleachers at the venue. U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson reported that a bullet grazed his nephew’s neck, causing a superficial wound and drawing blood. The shooter was killed by security.
“I want to thank the United States Secret Service and Law Enforcement for their rapid response to the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania. My condolences to the family of the person killed and to another injured,” Trump said in a statement. “It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known about the shooter, who is now dead. I was shot in the upper part of my right ear, heard a whizzing sound, and felt the bullet ripping through the skin. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
New York Times photographer Doug Mills reported three to four shots. Blood was visible in the left-hand bleachers, suggesting that a rallygoer might have been hit by a ricocheting bullet. Secret Service agents were seen chasing someone in the bleachers area.
A Secret Service spokesman confirmed the occurrence of an “incident” and assured that Trump was “safe.” Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung stated that Trump was examined at a local medical facility and was “fine.”
After the shooting, President Joe Biden said: “Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country… Everybody must condemn it.” He also expressed that he was “grateful to hear” that Trump was safe. Biden and Trump spoke on the evening of the incident.
House Speaker Mike Johnson pledged to open an investigation into the shooting, seeking testimony from federal law enforcement and national security officials. Senate Republicans urged the Democratic-controlled Senate to conduct hearings as well.
The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a community within an hour’s drive of the shooting location. Crooks attended Bethel Park High School and graduated in 2022. He had no known criminal record and worked at a nearby nursing home kitchen. Crooks was a registered Republican, with his voter registration active since September 2021, the month he turned 18. On January 20, 2021, at age 17, he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberal voter turnout group, through the Democratic Party donation platform ActBlue, according to federal campaign finance records. Photos of Crooks’s body showed him wearing a shirt that appeared to be merchandise from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel popularizing firearms.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading an investigation, collaborating with the United States Department of Justice National Security Division, the United States Secret Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The incident is being investigated as an assassination attempt. The body of the shooter, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was taken from the rooftop; he was not carrying identification. The FBI confirmed his identity through fingerprint biometrics and DNA profiling. Explosives were found in the car Crooks used to travel to the rally and at his home.
This is not the first assassination attempt on Trump. During his 2016 presidential campaign, a British man, Michael Steven Sandford, attempted to grab a police officer’s pistol at a rally in Las Vegas. Sandford was quickly subdued and later sentenced to 12 months in prison before being deported to the United Kingdom in 2017.
