Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump
On Saturday, July 13, a shooter allegedly attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump. He was struck by a bullet and suffered only superficial injury.
Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, to advance his candidacy for president in this coming November's election. Shots rang out, Trump fell, and Secret Service agents rushed to help him up and move him to safety.
The first news reports to hit the wire did not state that Trump was struck by a bullet. That's part of how journalism works in fast-response situations- the earliest drafts omit some key details until they can be confirmed. Though when I saw the now-iconic photo by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci, which I've included above, I immediately noticed the blood on Trump's cheek and ear.
The Secret Service quickly spotted the suspected shooter, atop a building some distance away, and killed him. Authorities subsequently identified the alleged gunman as local resident Thomas Matthew Crooks, age 20.
Right now we don't know much about Crooks's motivation for the alleged assassination attempt. Election records show that he donated $15 to a Democratic aligned group in 2021, when he was age 17, while at age 18 he registered to vote as a Republican. People who knew Crooks locally say he never expressed strong opinions about politics. That's against the type for people who perpetrate very public shootings. Often a history of political and social antagonism is found. Perhaps Crooks expressed his thoughts in a place authorities have not yet discovered. Knowing his mind would help make sense of this national near-calamity.
Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, to advance his candidacy for president in this coming November's election. Shots rang out, Trump fell, and Secret Service agents rushed to help him up and move him to safety.
The first news reports to hit the wire did not state that Trump was struck by a bullet. That's part of how journalism works in fast-response situations- the earliest drafts omit some key details until they can be confirmed. Though when I saw the now-iconic photo by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci, which I've included above, I immediately noticed the blood on Trump's cheek and ear.
The Secret Service quickly spotted the suspected shooter, atop a building some distance away, and killed him. Authorities subsequently identified the alleged gunman as local resident Thomas Matthew Crooks, age 20.
Right now we don't know much about Crooks's motivation for the alleged assassination attempt. Election records show that he donated $15 to a Democratic aligned group in 2021, when he was age 17, while at age 18 he registered to vote as a Republican. People who knew Crooks locally say he never expressed strong opinions about politics. That's against the type for people who perpetrate very public shootings. Often a history of political and social antagonism is found. Perhaps Crooks expressed his thoughts in a place authorities have not yet discovered. Knowing his mind would help make sense of this national near-calamity.