Trump shot at Pennsylvania rally

By Alvin Wu
Domestic Affairs
Trump shot at Pennsylvania rally

Former President Donald Trump is taken off the stage by U.S. Secret Service agents following an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. C-SPAN/Broadcast

July 14 (ZFJ) — Former President Donald Trump was shot in the upper right ear in an assassination attempt while he was at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 13.

At about 6:15 p.m., several minutes after Trump began addressing the audience, a shooter fired towards the stage “from an elevated position outside of the rally venue,” said Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, in a statement.

Secret Service agents subsequently killed the shooter. One spectator was killed, and two spectators were critically injured.

　

Video of the event shows three shots being fired, followed by Trump ducking under his podium. Five more shots are fired after a brief delay. After a few seconds, a final shot is heard, the Secret Service agent’s bullet that killed the sniper.

The crowd began screaming upon first hearing the shots. The Secret Service waited until it was confirmed that the shooter was down to take Trump away. As he was leaving, Trump pumped his fist in the air to the cheers of his audience.

Trump confirmed in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been shot.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he wrote. “Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”

Trump has been medically evaluated and is doing fine.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro identified the deceased spectator as Corey Comperatore, 50, of Sarver, Pennsylvania. Shapiro said at a press conference that the former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company “dove on his family to protect them” after hearing the gunshots.

The Pennsylvania State Police identified the injured victims as David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Both men are in stable condition.

The FBI has identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The Associated Press reported that he was registered as a Republican voter but donated $15 to a progressive political action committee the day Biden was inaugurated as president. AP also reported that he worked at a nursing home as a dietary aide.

The FBI is the lead federal law enforcement agency investigating the assassination attempt, while State Police are investigating the shootings of the three spectators. Questions that are currently under investigation include the shooter’s motive as well as how he was able to get so close to Trump in the first place.

President Joe Biden condemned the assassination attempt, saying that there is a “need for us to lower the temperature in our politics,” and announced that he has ordered an independent review of the events at the rally.

Trump will be proceeding to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee from Monday, July 15, to Thursday, July 18, as scheduled, his campaign said in a statement. The Secret Service has not changed its security plans for this event following the assassination attempt.

The last U.S. president to be assassinated was John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963—over 60 years ago.

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