Former President Trump was rushed off stage after shots rang out at his rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, an incident that plunged the election into uncharted territory just days before the Republican National Convention.
The FBI has identified the suspect involved in what it called an assassination attempt against Trump as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa.
Trump said later in a post on Truth Social that his ear was grazed by a bullet.
At least one rally attendee was killed and another one was injured, according to the local district attorney. The suspected shooter was also killed, he said.
Follow The Hill’s live updates on the incident here.
Trump hustled off stage after loud bangs ring out at rally
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Trump allies react to apparent shooting at Pennsylvania rally
The FBI has identified the suspect in the Saturday shooting at former President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa.
The FBI, in a statement obtained by The Hill, said 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pa., is the suspect involved in the incident that authorities have labeled an assassination attempt against Trump.
“The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania. This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” the FBI said.
— Mychael Schnell
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said around 11 p.m. that Trump had left the area of the rally.
“Under the protection of US Secret Service and with the assistance of the Pennsylvania State Police, former President Trump has now left the Butler area. Lori and I are thankful that his team reports that he is fine and we continue to wish him a full and speedy recovery,” he posted to X.
The governor also expressed his condolences for those who had been critically injured.
“We mourn the loss of life and pray for the two victims who are being treated at this time.”
Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge at the FBI field office in Pittsburgh, told reporters at a press briefing that officials are calling the shooting at the rally an assassination attempt against Trump.
Rojek said law enforcement is not yet prepared to identify who the shooter is.
“We are close to that identification, and as soon as we are 100 percent confident in who that individual is we will share it with the press. We do not currently have an identified motive,” he said.
— Brett Samuels
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe predicted on CNN Saturday night that the suspect behind the shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania will be identified soon.
McCabe noted that certain procedures can be done to attempt to identify the shooter, including fingerprint and dental record analysis if the shooter was not carrying identification.
“They will have this person identified, I would think, within the next few hours,” McCabe said.
— Tara Suter
The Secret Service has agreed to brief the House Oversight Committee about the apparent assassination attempt against former President Trump, a spokesperson confirmed.
The panel’s chairman, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), has also publicly called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing.
— Emily Brooks
Biden and Trump spoke on Saturday night, according to a White House official.
The official said that Biden spoke to Trump just before the president left Rehoboth, Del., where he was on Saturday, to make an unexpected return to the White House.
Biden delivered remarks earlier on Saturday evening and said that he had tried to get ahold of Trump and hoped to speak with the former president.
— Alex Gangitano
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) said on Saturday that his nephew had been grazed with a bullet while attending Trump’s rally.“My nephew was at the event tonight,” Jackson told Fox News’ Sean Hannity, explaining he was in the “friends and family pen.”
“They heard the shots, and everybody dropped to the ground,” Jackson explained.
“And I don’t know if you guys have the picture or not, but he was grazed in the neck. A bullet crossed his neck, cut his neck, and he was bleeding.”Jackson explained that his sister-in-law had encouraged his nephew to go to the triage tent after the incident.
— Caroline Vakil
Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), a survivor of the 2017 Congressional baseball game shooting, told The Hill Saturday evening that the apparent assassination attempt against Trump made him immediately think of the baseball shooting – and that he had the same reaction then as he does now.
“I was shocked, but I wasn’t surprised,” Williams said.
“This is the world we live in right now,” he continued. “The anger that some people … [have toward] conservative values and Donald Trump is pretty unbelievable.”
“For people to be so angry and so hateful to do deeds like this, I think it shows that our country, in some way, we have to be able to take a deep breath and get a hold of ourselves,” Williams said. “It’s not good for either party. It’s not good for our country.”
Williams predicted the shooting would earn Trump more support.
“I frankly think he’ll get a lot more support now,” Williams said. “Here’s a guy, that they tried to take his livelihood away. They tried to put him in jail. The list goes on and on and on, and now that someone tries to assassinate him, I’d say he’s one tough son of a gun, and I think a lot of people that weren’t with him are going to stand with him now.”
— Emily Brooks
Biden is leaving Rehoboth, Del., where he was slated to stay for the whole weekend.
Hours after he gave remarks from Rehoboth, he made plans to return to Washington, D.C. late Saturday.
The president is expected to leave Rehoboth at 10:30pm and arrive at the White House just after midnight.
— Alex Gangitano
Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the shooting and said the FBI, ATF and other federal agents are assisting Secret Service and local law enforcement.
“My heart is with the former President, those injured, and the family of the spectator killed in this horrific attack,” Garland said in a statement.
“We will not tolerate violence of any kind, and violence like this is an attack on our democracy,” he added. “The Justice Department will bring every available resource to bear to this investigation.”
— Brett Samuels
Tiffany Trump thanked the public for the outpouring of “love and support” her family received after former President Trump was injured Saturday after being shot in the ear.
“The outpouring of love and support for my dad is deeply appreciated. Thank you God for keeping my father alive,” the 30-year-old daughter of Trump and his ex-wife Marla Maples wrote on X.
“Political violence is never the answer. God bless the secret service and law enforcement who fearlessly intervened.”
“Please include the families of the victims in your prayers,” she added.
“As you saw today, my father is a fighter and he will continue to fight for you and the USA.”
— Steff Danielle Thomas
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in a post on the social media platform X Saturday that the recent shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania was “horrific.”
“There is no place for political violence, including the horrific incident we just witnessed in Pennsylvania,” Ocasio-Cortez said in her post.
“It is absolutely unacceptable and must be denounced in the strongest terms,” she added.
“My heart goes out to all the victims and I wish the former President a speedy recovery.”
— Tara Suter
The FBI said it is leading the investigation into the shooting.
“The FBI has assumed the role of the lead federal law enforcement agency in the investigation of the incident involving former President Donald Trump that occurred earlier today in Butler, Pennsylvania. Special agents of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office responded immediately, to include crisis response team members and evidence response technicians.,” the agency said in a statement.
“We will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of the FBI, alongside our partners at the U.S. Secret Service and state and local law enforcement.”
“Anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is asked to call our tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita said “leftist activists” and “democrat donors” should be held accountable at the ballot box in November.
“[F]or years, and even today,leftist activists, democrat donors and now even @JoeBiden have made disgusting [remarks and] descriptions of shooting Donald Trump it’s high time they be held accountable for it the best way is through the ballot box,” LaCivita said in a post on X.
— Caroline Vakil
Top Trump aides said the former president will still attend the GOP convention scheduled for this week in Wisconsin.
“As was communicated earlier this evening, President Trump is doing well and grateful to law enforcement and first responders for their fast action,” Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
“President Trump looks forward to joining you all in Milwaukee as we proceed with our convention to nominate him to serve as the 47th President of the United States. As our party’s nominee, President Trump will continue to share his vision to Make America Great Again,” they added.
— Brett Samuels