Pieces are still being put together after Saturday’s shooting at a Trump rally which injured former President Donald Trump and killed another person.
The rally on July 13 in Butler, Pa., ended abruptly after Trump was shot at and evacuated away by Secret Service, having suffered a graze gunshot wound to his right ear. The suspected shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from nearby Bethel Park, Pa., was declared dead along with an unnamed person in attendance who was shot by the gunman. Two others currently are considered in serious condition as of Saturday night.
The incident comes in the midst of Trump’s campaign for presidency which he won previously in 2016.
Pennsylvania state police commissioner, Colonel Christopher Paris, made remarks hours later to the media as the investigation from local law enforcement and led by the FBI continued to unfold.
“We are prepared to support this investigation in any way shape or form,” Paris said.
Several attendees spoke with the media about what they saw and heard including one local conservative activist, Corey Check, who recalled his first immediate thoughts when the shooting unfolded.
“The first thing I thought to myself was, America’s under attack,” Check said. “I grabbed the hands of a couple of people I didn’t even know. We said the Lord’s Prayer. I called my family and told them I loved them.”
President Joe Biden, currently campaigning against former President Trump in the upcoming 2024 election, made brief remarks about the shooting at an impromptu press conference Saturday.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence,” Biden stated. “We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this.”
President Biden also reportedly spoke to Trump Saturday night, according to a White House official. On Sunday evening, Biden spoke from the Oval Office in regard to Saturday afternoon’s events in Pennsylvania in an address to the nation.
Trump is still expected to make an appearance at the Republican National Convention which begins Monday in Milwaukee, Wis., where he will accept the Republican nomination.
On Monday, Trump named Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, as his vice presidential running mate.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated since its original publication.
Featured Image: Photo by Scottsdale Mint on Unsplash
Edited by: Steven London & James Sutton
