The FBI and Secret Service on Sunday are investigating the possible motive of the gunman who opened fire during former President Donald Trump’s rally, grazing the former president’s ear and leaving a bystander dead.
Snipers “neutralized” the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, not far from the Butler County site of Trump’s rally.
Trump’s ear was grazed, one spectator was killed and two others were critically injured in the shooting, apart from the shooter. Trump is “safe,” as the Secret Service confirmed Saturday night, and President Biden is continuing to receive updates from top administration officials. Mr. Biden said in brief remarks Sunday that he has called for an independent review of the security at the rally to assess what took place and has directed the Secret Service to examine security measures for this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Mr. Biden also said he would address the nation at 8 p.m. ET Sunday from the Oval Office.
Law enforcement sources said that bystanders spotted Crooks shortly before the shooting and reported his presence to law enforcement. But officials momentarily lost track of the gunman, and minutes later, Crooks crawled up the side of a shed, “popped up” on the roof, and immediately began shooting, according to officials. Crooks fired six to eight rounds using an AR-style weapon, approximately 400 feet from the podium.
Suspicious devices were found in Crooks’ vehicle, a law enforcement source confirmed Sunday. The FBI and Secret Service are still combing through Crooks’s history.
Trump and Mr. Biden spoke Saturday night in what a White House official called a “good, short and respectful” call. The president addressed the nation in brief remarks from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Saturday night before returning to the White House.
Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, Sunday morning, saying it “was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
“We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed,” he wrote. “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.”
The Republican National Convention is expected to continue as planned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this week, under heightened security.
