Officials say man who opened fire at Trump rally was a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign says he is “fine” after what law enforcement officials are treating as an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Officials said the man who opened fire was a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania.
The FBI early Sunday named Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the shooter in the assassination attempt on Trump. The agency said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
The political leanings of Crooks were not immediately clear. Records show Crooks was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden was sworn in to office.
What happened at Trump rally shooting?
In a social media post, Trump said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” The former president was quickly whisked from the stage by Secret Service agents, his ear covered in blood.
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 13: Law enforcement agents stand near the stage of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. According to Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, the suspected gunman is dead after injuring former President Trump, killing one audience member and injuring at least one other. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 13: Campaign signs and empty water bottles are seen on the ground of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. According to Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, the suspected gunman is dead after injuring former President Trump, killing one audience member and injuring at least one other. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 13: Law enforcement agents stand near the stage of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. According to Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, the suspected gunman is dead after injuring former President Trump, killing one audience member and injuring at least one other. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 13: Campaign signs and empty water bottles are seen on the ground of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. According to Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, the suspected gunman is dead after injuring former President Trump, killing one audience member and injuring at least one other. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is covered by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
People take cover as U.S. Secret Service agents surround Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on stage at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JULY 13: People watch television news at a bar in Milwaukee displaying images from a campaign rally for former U.S. President Donald Trump where he was apparently injured on July 13, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Details are unclear, but Secret Service quickly ushered Trump away while speaking at the Pennsylvania rally. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden steps off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Lanham, Maryland, on July 14, 2024. US President Joe Biden led the condemnation after his election rival Donald Trump was wounded in a shooting incident at a rally in Pennsylvania July 13 that also reportedly killed at least one bystander. Political leaders on both sides of the aisle slammed the violence minutes after the Republican candidate was rushed off stage by the Secret Service, blood running down his face. (Photo by SAMUEL CORUM / AFP) (Photo by SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images)
A prosecutor said the suspected gunman and at least one attendee are dead, and the Secret Service said two spectators were critically injured.
Biden and political leaders of all stripes condemned the attack. “There’s no place in America for this type of violence,” Biden said. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”
Where is Trump now?
Trump’s private jet landed shortly after midnight Sunday at Newark Liberty International Airport.
‘Violence is never acceptable:’ Bay Area leaders react to Donald Trump rally shooting
Video posted by an aide showed him deplaning flanked by Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counter assault team, an unusually visible show of force by his protective detail.
Trump planned to spend the night at his private golf club in nearby Bedminster, New Jersey.
Meanwhile, Biden arrived at the White House early Sunday after cutting short a weekend trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
The White House said he would receive a briefing from Homeland Security and law enforcement officials on the attempted assassination of Trump later in the morning.