Former President Donald Trump was shot during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. He was immediately shielded and taken to safety after his ear was injured. Details are emerging about how it happened and the identity of the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20. Here’s what we know.
Where did it happen?
The shooting took place at a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a city in the western part of the state about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh.
What happened?
About six minutes into Trump’s speech, the former president could be seen clutching his ear after popping noises rang out over the rally. Trump ducked to the ground as several Secret Service agents rushed to the stage and surrounded him on all sides. There were screams from onlookers as the scene unfolded.
Roughly a minute later, agents helped Trump get up from the ground and stand. He held up his fist to the crowd, prompting cheers from supporters. Several agents then rushed him off the stage and escorted him into a vehicle.
Blood could be seen on Trump’s ear and on the side of his face. He later said on his social media site, Truth Social, that a bullet “pierced the upper part of my right ear.”
Trump was talking about President Joe Biden’s policies on immigration when shots were fired.
Was anyone else hurt?
One spectator died and two others were critically wounded, Pennsylvania state Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.
All three are men, he said, adding that authorities have identified the victims but are not releasing their identities at this time.
The two victims who were wounded are in critical condition after being admitted to the hospital Saturday night. Dan Laurent, vice president of corporate communications at Allegheny Health Network, confirmed that both were being treated at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Witnesses described hearing loud popping noises, with one person saying they saw someone who was shot in the back of the head and another person who said she saw someone “bleeding profusely.”
None of the injured included police officers, Bivens said.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, said in a statement that his nephew was injured in the shooting. Jackson said that his family was seated near Trump and that after they heard shots, his nephew realized something had grazed and cut his neck.
He said his nephew’s injury was not serious and “he is doing well.”
Was it an assassination attempt? Which agencies are investigating?
Law enforcement is investigating the incident as an assassination attempt.
“This evening, we had what we’re calling an assassination attempt against our former president, Donald Trump,” said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of FBI’s Pittsburgh field office.
The FBI said it is leading the investigation and that special agents from its Pittsburgh field office responded immediately. They are working alongside the Secret Service and state and local law enforcement. In the aftermath of the shooting, the FBI deployed investigative agents, bomb technicians and evidence response personnel.
Follow live updates on the Trump rally shooting
“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,” the FBI said in a statement.
Rojek asked that witnesses to the shooting contact the FBI.
The House of Representatives will also be investigating the shooting, and Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., earlier said his committee would be investigating.
Who is the shooter? What was the motive?
The shooter is dead, the Secret Service confirmed on X. The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The predominantly white, relatively well-to-do city is south of greater Pittsburgh.
“We do not currently have an identified motive, although our investigators are working tirelessly to attempt to identify what that motive was,” Rojek said.
Crooks used a semi-automatic rifle, based on what was found at the scene, three senior U.S. law enforcement officials said.
Investigators are also looking into whether the gun Crooks used belonged to his father and if it was purchased legally, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.
Voter records from Pennsylvania listed a person with the same name, address and birth date as a registered Republican.
It was not known whether the shooter was acting alone or in coordination with others. There does not appear to be any evidence currently that the shooting had any link to a foreign actor, according to a U.S. official.
Where was the shooter? Did the shooter get past security?
Shots were fired from outside the security perimeter established by the Secret Service, three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.
Bivens, the Pennsylvania State Police lieutenant colonel, said the building where the shooter was perched was “some distance” away from the security perimeter.
That information clarifies whether and how a gunman could have gotten a firearm past security and gun-detecting magnetometers at the rally. It appears the shooter did not.
The shooter appears to have been on a nearby rooftop.
What have we heard from Trump?
Trump first posted about the incident on Truth Social.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” he wrote.
He expressed gratitude to the Secret Service and law enforcement for their quick response. He added, “Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured.”
“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead,” he wrote.
What have we heard from Trump’s family?
Melania Trump released a statement Sunday describing the fear she felt seeing the incident unfold and thanking the Secret Service agents and law enforcement who responded. She also offered sympathy for the victims.
“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion — his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration,” she wrote in the statement. “The core facets of my husband’s life — his human side — were buried below the political machine.”
She encouraged people to look beyond partisan politics: “Let us not forget that differing opinions, policy, and political games are inferior to love.”
Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, condemned the attack in a statement on X, thanking people for their prayers. “I am grateful to the Secret Service and all the other law enforcement officers for their quick and decisive actions today,” she wrote. “I continue to pray for our country.”
“I love you Dad, today and always,” she added.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., said in a statement through his spokesperson that he spoke to his father over the phone Saturday and that he is in “great spirits.” “He will never stop fighting to save America, no matter what the radical left throws at him,” Trump Jr. said.
Their brother Eric Trump tweeted a picture of his father pumping his fist in the air after the shooting. “This is the fighter America needs!” the post read.
Has Biden responded?
Biden said that he spoke with Trump after the shooting, as well as with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy.
The president first addressed reporters about the shooting from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, about 90 minutes after it occurred.
“It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country,” he said. “We cannot condone this.”
Biden said that it appeared Trump was doing well. Asked by a reporter soon after the shooting whether he believed the incident was an assassination attempt, Biden said, “I have an opinion, but I don’t have all the facts.”
Biden added that he wanted more information before he commented further.
The president was made aware of the shooting after coming out of a Catholic Mass he was attending in Delaware, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Campaigning has been put on hold, an official said. The campaign will be “pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible,” the official said.
Will Trump still be at the Republican National Convention?
The Republican National Convention — where Trump and his vice presidential pick will be officially nominated as the party’s candidates — is scheduled to take place in Milwaukee from Monday to Thursday.
Prior to Saturday’s shooting, Trump was expected to pick his running mate in the coming days and set to give an acceptance speech Thursday evening.
Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee said in a joint statement on Saturday after that the former president “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.”