Gunman at Donald Trump rally was found by officer before opening fire | World | News
A shooter who tried to assassinate Donald Trump at a rally pointed a rifle at an officer who found him on a rooftop shortly before opening fire on the former president, according to sources.
The Associated Press reported the gunman, who has been named as Thomas Matthew Crooks, turned a weapon on the officer before firing at Mr Trump, who escaped with an injury to his ear.
The FBI named Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the shooter. Law enforcement officials confirmed on Sunday (July 14) that the shooting at the campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, is being investigated as an attempted assassination of the former president and presumptive Republican nominee.
Mr Trump was speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday where he is due to be named as the party’s candidate in the race to be the next president of the United States.
Mr Trump will travel to the Convention on Sunday as originally planned despite the assassination attempt. He insisted people must remain “defiant in the face of wickedness”.
The former president wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Based on yesterday’s terrible events, I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin, and the Republican National Convention, by two days.”
He added: “But [I] have just decided that I cannot allow a ‘shooter’, or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else. Therefore, I will be leaving for Milwaukee, as scheduled, at 3.30pm today (US time).”
Mr Trump thanked well-wishers and said “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening”, adding: “We will fear not, but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness.”
His wife, Melania Trump, issued a statement on Sunday, calling for unity and condemning the gunman as a “monster”.
While Mr Trump survived, one man was killed in the attack, which has shocked a nation and sparked calls for unity as well as an investigation over how a gunman could have got within 130m of the former president.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro identified the deceased victim on Sunday as Corey Comperatore, 50, a former fire chief from the area who shielded his daughters during the attack. Mr Shapiro paid tribute to Mr Comperatore, describing him as a hero.
President Joe Biden said in a briefing he has directed an independent review of the security at the rally on Saturday (July 13).
Mr Biden said he has also directed the US Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention.
The president spoke briefly on Sunday afternoon, saying he and First Lady, Jill Biden, were praying for the family of the man killed at the rally and he was sincerely grateful Mr Trump was “doing well and recovering”.
He said: “There’s no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter.”
Mike Kelly, the Republican congressman who represents the Butler Farm area and was sitting to the side behind Mr Trump when the shooting unfolded, called for calm.
He told The Associated Press: ” I am in a state of bewilderment of how and what has happened to the United States of America.”
Mr Kelly added: “I just wish people – tone it down. Quit trying to find, to blame somebody. The blame lies somewhere in the psyche of America.”
Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press bomb-making materials were found inside Crooks’s vehicle. There were also bomb-making materials found at his home.
The two officials were not authorised to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Records show Crooks was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave £12 ($15) to a progressive political action committee on January 20, 2021, the day Mr Biden was sworn into office.
