✕
Close
Support truly
independent journalism
Support Now
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday – with the former president bundled off stage with his face bloodied after a bullet hit his ear.
The gunman was killed by Secret Service agents after he fired at the crowd from outside the perimeter. A person in the crowd was killed and two others were injured.
The FBI has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in the shooting.
The assassination attempt happened 15 minutes after Trump went on stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening, with around seven or eight popping sounds heard.
The former president dropped behind a podium as his Secret Service team swarmed around him. He was hoisted and removed from the stage by several agents with blood on his right ear and down his cheek.
A post on Trump’s Truth Social account says that he “was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear”, adding: “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.”
In remarks from Delaware, President Joe Biden said that “there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick.”
Key Points
- FBI names 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the ‘subject involved’
- Donald Trump says he’s ‘fine’ after being rushed off stage
- Trump says he felt bullet ‘ripping through skin’ of his ear
- Audience member killed and two in critical condition
- Gunman was registered as a Republican voter
Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was registered as a Republican voter, but donated to a Democratic-aligned group
According to public records, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who the FBI has identified as the "suspect involved" in the assassination attempt of Donald Trump, was registered as a Republican voter, according to a listing in Pennsylvania’s voter database that matched his name, age, and the address linked to Crooks in public records, CNN reported.
However, federal campaign finance reports show that he had made a $15 contribution to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called Progressive Turnout Project on 20 January 2021, the report added.
Matthew Crooks lived in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park.
Shahana Yasmin14 July 2024 07:44 1720947728What we know about gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks who shot at Trump at his Pennsylvania rally
The FBI has stated they were using his DNA for biometric confirmation as the gunman carried no identification. Later, they identified him as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
My colleague Shahana Yasmin has more details:
What we know about the gunman who shot at Trump at Pennsylvania rally
The 20-year-old Pennsylvania resident, who was killed by law enforcement and whose motives are yet unknown, shot at Trump at a campaign rally in Butler
Andy Gregory14 July 2024 10:02 1720947620WATCH: FBI says Trump rally shooting was ‘assassination attempt’
Nigel Farage says ‘my good friend Donald’s got away with it'
Reform UK leader and Brexit architect Nigel Farage has expressed relief that “my friend Donald’s got away with it – only just”.
He told the BBC: “It’s an absolutely horrendous incident, and yet somehow I’m not shocked by it. The narrative that is put out there about Trump by these liberals that oppose him is so nasty, so unpleasant, that I think it almost encourages this kind of behaviour.
“It was just a few weeks ago that Joe Biden said Trump must be put in the bull’s eye.”
It has emerged that gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was a registered Republican.
Andy Gregory14 July 2024 09:58 1720946508British PM Keir Starmer condemns ‘appalling’ shooting at Donald Trump rally
Sir Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” at the shooting at a campaign rally for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.
He said: “I am appalled by the shocking scenes at President Trump’s rally and we send him and his family our best wishes. Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”
Prime Minister condemns ‘appalling’ shooting at Donald Trump rally
The former US president was rushed off the stage at a Pennsylvania rally as gunshots rang out.
Andy Gregory14 July 2024 09:41 1720945806VP frontrunner JD Vance points finger at Biden for apparent assassination attempt at Trump rally
JD Vance, who is roughly 48 hours away from potentially being announced as the nominee for vice president at the Republican National Convention, pointed the finger at Democrats and the president after Trump was shot at during his campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Vance, a freshman Republican senator from Ohio, tweeted Saturday evening: “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.”
He was not the only Republican to take their response to the tragedy as far.
John Bowden writes...
JD Vance points finger at Biden for apparent assassination attempt at Trump rally
Vance claims Biden campaign’s ‘rhetoric’ about Trump being a fascist ‘directly led to President Trump’s attempted assassination’
Shahana Yasmin14 July 2024 09:30 1720945305Piers Morgan says Trump showed ‘astounding courage'
Piers Morgan, who has interviewed Donald Trump multiple times, said the ex-president showed “astounding courage” in the wake of the attempt on his life.
Andy Gregory14 July 2024 09:21 1720944638UK minister condemns ‘appalling, horrific’ attack on Trump
Cabinet minister Lucy Powell has condemned what she said was “an appalling, horrific attack”.
The House of Commons leader said there is “no place for political violence” in our democracy.
While Ms Powell said the UK’s general election was one of the “great things about our democracy”, she added: “But we have to remember that underneath that, there has been this growing sense of insecurity and hate and attacks. It is something that we need to take action on.”
Andy Gregory14 July 2024 09:10 1720944203‘A miracle’ Trump survived, says Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson has described it as “a miracle that Donald Trump escaped an attempted assassination”.
Andy Gregory14 July 2024 09:03 1720944020Watch live: Outside White House after Donald Trump shot at rally in ‘assassination attempt’
Watch a live feed outside the White House on Sunday, 14 July, after Donald Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Around 6pm on Saturday, several popping sounds were heard before the former president ducked behind a podium and was swarmed by security detail. He was removed from the stage with blood on his ear, and raised a fist to the air in the aftermath.
One person in the crowd was killed and two others were injured.
Secret Service agents killed the gunman, who shot at the crowd from outside the perimeter.
The FBI has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in the shooting.
Live: Outside White House after Donald Trump shot at rally in ‘assassination attempt’
A livestream shows the White House after Donald Trump was shot in the ear in what is being considered an assassination attempt according to law enforcement
Shahana Yasmin14 July 2024 09:00 Newer1 / 6OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
