Updated July 23, 2024 at 13:54 PM ET
The July 13 attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump has stunned the country as it approaches Election Day on Nov. 5. Here is an in-depth look at the events surrounding the shooting that wounded Trump at a Butler, Pa., political rally.
Leading up to the rally
Over several months prior to the July 13 attack on former President Donald Trump, the man ultimately identified as the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, receives multiple packages at his Bethel Park, Pa., home that are marked "hazardous material," according to The New York Times, citing a federal law enforcement memo.
Also, at some point prior to the rally, the National Security Council warns the U.S. Secret Service and the Trump campaign of an increased threat to Trump coming from Iran, and the Secret Service boosts protection for Trump in light of that, a national security official confirms to NPR. It's unclear exactly when the warning is issued.
July 3: The Trump campaign announces that the former president will hold a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
July 6: Crooks searches online for the dates of Trump events and for the date of the Democratic National Convention, investigators say.
July 7: About a week before the rally, Crooks visits the site where it is set to take place.
July 12: Crooks goes to the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, where he is a member. The club is located near his home in Bethel Park, about 50 miles south of Butler, the site where the Trump rally is to be held. Crooks practices on the rifle range, The Associated Press reports, citing a federal intelligence briefing.
July 13: On the morning of the day of the rally, set for early evening, Crooks visits the site again, this time flying a drone over the area where the rally will take place, a source familiar with the matter who isn't authorized to speak publicly later told NPR. The drone traces a programmed flight path, the source says.
July 13: Crooks searches online for a local gun store, where he buys 50 rounds of ammunition for an AR-style rifle that his father had purchased in 2013, according to the AP. Crooks drives to Butler and parks his car outside the Butler Farm Show grounds, where the rally is to take place.
July 13, about 5 p.m. ET: The Secret Service is made aware of a "suspicious male" loitering near the rally, but it apparently loses track of him.
The rally begins and shots are fired
July 13, 6:02 p.m. ET: Trump takes the stage as "God Bless the U.S.A." blares from the public address system.
July 13, 6:05 p.m. ET: Trump begins addressing the rally, acknowledging that "this is a big, big, beautiful crowd." In the first few minutes of the speech, the focus is on President Biden's record and immigration.
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July 13, 6:09 p.m. ET: About two minutes before shots are fired, several attendees notice an armed man on a rooftop about 450 feet away from the stage where Trump is speaking. In a video posted to social media, the attendees are heard trying to alert law enforcement. In the video, a man can be heard saying: "Someone's on top of the roof. Look!" A woman yells, "He's on the roof. … Right there. Flat on the roof."
Some moments before the shooting takes place, a Butler Township police officer encounters the shooter, later identified as Crooks, on the rooftop of a nearby building, according to Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe.
A news release issued days later by Tom Knights, the Butler Township manager, says that as Trump arrived, "a call went out for a suspicious male" near the building and that "several officers broke free from their traffic intersections of responsibility and responded to the area to aid in the search."
The news release says that no one was found in a subsequent search, but that "A Butler Township officer attempted to gain access to the roof by being hoisted up by an assisting officer. The officer was pulling himself up to the roof when he made visual contact with an individual who pointed a rifle at him."
"The officer was in a defenseless position and there was no way he could engage the actor while holding onto the roof edge," the news release says, adding that the officer "immediately communicated the individual's location and that he was in possession of a weapon. Moments later, the individual commenced firing."
July 13, 6:11 p.m. ET: As Trump is speaking, he turns to his right, suddenly stops talking and reaches for his right ear. As three shots ring out, the former president crouches behind the lectern.
Secret Service agents scramble onstage, shielding Trump and yelling, "Get down!" Several more shots are heard. Heavily armed federal law enforcement officials rush onto the stage area.
July 13, 6:12 p.m. ET: Secret Service agents call for a vehicle to evacuate the former president. As shots continue, a woman can be heard screaming.
A 50-year-old former fire chief, Corey Comperatore, is hit by one or more of the gunman's bullets. Two other rally-goers, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, are seriously wounded. Comperatore is later declared dead.
Doug Mills, a New York Times photographer, appeared to capture an image of a bullet streaking past Donald Trump’s head, a former FBI agent said. He took the photo while documenting the rally that turned into an attempt on a former president’s life. https://t.co/nhtORaXDZj pic.twitter.com/32UI1GDcoO
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 14, 2024
Members of the Secret Service's Counter Assault Team return fire, fatally wounding Crooks with a shot to the head. About 42 seconds after the first shot is fired, an agent says, "Shooter down."
New York Times photojournalist Doug Mills apparently catches an image showing the precise moment a bullet grazes past Trump. Speaking later to NPR's All Things Considered, Mills says that initially he doesn't realize the loud pops are gunshots. Then he sees that Trump is bleeding. "I kept taking pictures, and then I realized that he had grimaced and then he grabbed his ear and then he took his hand off his ear and there was blood on his ear and then he went down," Mills says. "And I was like, 'Oh my God, he's been shot.'"
July 13, 6:13 p.m. ET: The former president is helped to his feet by Secret Service agents. He's heard saying: "Wait, I want to get my shoes." Blood can be seen on his right ear and right cheek. After looking around, Trump raises his fist to the crowd and appears to mouth the word "fight" three times as he's led from the dais.
July 13, about 6:50 p.m. ET: A spokesperson for Trump says the former president "is fine" after the attack. Trump is evaluated and treated at nearby Butler Memorial Hospital, according to CBS.
Lawmakers react to the shooting
July 13, 6:57 p.m. ET: Less than an hour after the shooting — and before authorities release the identity of the gunman or any possible motive for the attack — Republican and Democratic lawmakers begin weighing in with posts on X and other statements. One of the first is from Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who suggests charges should be filed against Biden "for inciting an assassination."
July 13, 7:05 p.m. ET: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., posts on X: "I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe. Political violence has no place in our country."
July 13, 7:31 p.m. ET: In a post on X, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., refers to the 2022 attack on her husband, writing, "As one whose family has been the victim of political violence, I know firsthand that political violence of any kind has no place in our society. I thank God that former President Trump is safe."
July 13, 8:20 p.m. ET: Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who is soon to become Trump's running mate, posts on X: "Today is not just some isolated incident. The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination."
July 13, 8:42 p.m. ET: Posting on Truth Social, Trump, whose right ear was wounded, writes: "I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin."
July 13, 8:49 p.m. ET: Anthony Guglielmi, the chief of communications for the Secret Service, posts on X: The gunman "fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue. US Secret Service personnel neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased."
July 13, 8:59 p.m. ET: Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., posts on X: "Let's be clear: This was an assassination attempt aided and abetted by the radical Left and corporate media incessantly calling Trump a threat to democracy, fascists, or worse."
July 13: A search of Crooks' car and home after the shooting on Saturday finds two improvised explosive devices in his car and one in his Bethel Park home.
July 13: In a brief statement from the White House, Biden says of Trump: "I'm grateful to hear that he's safe and doing well. I'm praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information."
FBI identifies would-be assassin
July 14, 1:32 a.m. ET: The FBI officially identifies Crooks as the shooter. A search of Pennsylvania voter registration and Federal Election Commission data shows he was a registered Republican who also donated $15 to ActBlue, a Democratic-allied organization, in 2021.
In a Sunday briefing with reporters, FBI investigators say Crooks used his father's rifle in the attack, describing the weapon as an AR-style rifle that was purchased legally. "We do not know specifically how he accessed the weapon and whether he took it without his father's knowledge," Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh Field Office, says.
July 14, 7:36 a.m. ET: Posting on Truth Social, Trump says of the attempt on his life, "it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening."
July 14, 2:05 p.m. ET: In remarks in the White House briefing room, Biden says he spoke with Trump the previous night and says, "I'm sincerely grateful that he's doing well and recovering." He expresses condolences to Comperatore's family and wishes for the recovery of the two injured men, Dutch and Copenhaver. He cautions: "We don't yet have any information about the motive of the shooter. We know who he is. I urge everyone — everyone, please, don't make assumptions about his motives or his affiliations."
July 14: The FBI says its investigators have yet to identify a motive or any clear political ideology for the shooter.
July 14, 8:02 p.m. ET: In an address to the nation, Biden encourages Americans to "remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies." He notes the "need for us to lower the temperature in our politics."
July 15: In a statement, the FBI says its "technical specialists successfully gained access to Thomas Matthew Crooks' phone, and they continue to analyze his electronic devices," adding, "The search of the subject's residence and vehicle are complete." NPR has also confirmed that Crooks' phone had a saved photo of James Crumbley, the Michigan man who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter over his teenage son's mass shooting at a Michigan high school.
July 15: Trump, with his right ear bandaged, appears alongside his newly announced vice presidential running mate, Sen. JD Vance, on the first night of the Republican National Convention.
July 15: In an interview with NBC's Lester Holt, Biden calls it a "mistake" to have said it's time to put Trump in the bull's-eye on a recent campaign call.
Lawmakers are briefed by the Secret Service
July 17: The Secret Service briefs House and Senate lawmakers about the July 13 shooting, acknowledging that it knew of reports of a suspicious person nine minutes ahead of Trump taking the stage, according to Axios.
July 17, 4:30 p.m. ET: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in a post on X, calls the assassination attempt "a grave attack on American democracy," adding that the country "deserves answers and accountability."
"New leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction," McConnell says.
July 17, 4:52 p.m. ET: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., posts on X, "I am appalled to learn that the Secret Service knew about a threat prior to President Trump walking on stage."
July 17: Local police officers who worked the rally tell NPR they're fielding a barrage of hostile calls from people, some of whom have bought into conspiracy theories. "People call and they just want to call us cowards for not doing our job. Well, we did our job," says Sgt. Tony Sawl of the Butler County Sheriff's Office. "Hopefully the truth will come out, and if there were mistakes being made, hopefully we can learn from that."
July 18: NPR confirms that the FBI has been reviewing the contents of Crooks' electronic devices, including a laptop and two cellphones — one his primary phone and a second one found at his home. Crooks' primary phone has 27 contacts saved on it, and investigators are tracking those individuals down. He had saved images of Biden, Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and the Princess of Wales (the former Kate Middleton). He also searched "major depressive disorder."
Trump's speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination
July 18, about 11 p.m. ET: In his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, a somewhat subdued Trump recounts the July 13 attempt on his life. He says he "felt very safe, because I had God on my side."
"I'm not supposed to be here tonight," Trump says, as the crowd responds, "Yes, you are!"
"Not supposed to be here. ... I thank you, but I'm not, and I'll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God," he says.
July 19: The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., says Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will testify at a July 22 hearing at 10 a.m. ET. "Americans demand answers from Director Kimberly Cheatle about the Secret Service's historic security failures that led to the attempted assassination of President Trump, murder of an innocent victim, and harm to others in the crowd," Comer says in a statement.
July 22: Cheatle, in her first testimony before Congress since the July 13 assassination attempt, tells lawmakers that her agency failed in its mission to protect the nation's leaders. She calls the attempt on Trump's life the Secret Service's "most significant failure in decades." In a contentious hearing, Cheatle repeatedly declines to answer specific questions or offer details about the incident, citing ongoing investigations. It prompts members of both parties, including the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Rep. Mark E. Green, R-Tenn., to call for Cheatle's resignation.
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