Trump shooter identified

The shooting occurred shortly after Trump took the stage at around 6 p.m. EST. Several loud pops were heard, and Secret Service agents quickly escorted Trump off the stage, with blood visible on his face. Video footage from the rally appears to show Trump reacting to something hitting his ear before he briefly pumped his fist at the crowd and was led away.

One attendee was killed, and two others were critically injured in the attack. Trump confirmed on social media that a bullet "pierced the upper part" of his right ear before he was whisked away by agents. He has since returned to his home in New Jersey after receiving hospital treatment.

Shooter named

Donald Trump gets helped off the stage by aides in Pennsylvania on July 13 after an assassination attempt.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Business Insider USA

The Secret Service reported that the suspected shooter, who attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue, was killed. The shooter has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, a registered Republican voter in Pennsylvania. Federal campaign finance reports indicate that Crooks donated $15 to a progressive political action committee on January 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden was inaugurated.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing a man with a rifle crawling on a nearby roof before shots rang out.

Donald Trump said he was struck in the ear when a shooter opened fire during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday Former President Donald Trump was rushed offstage after shots rang out during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. He was photographed raising his fist in the air with blood smeared on his face.Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that he was shot by "a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear." One bystander died and two others were critically injured in the shooting, which is being investigated as an attempted assassination.Authorities have not yet confirmed that Trump was shot in the ear.The shooting wasn't the first attempt on Trump's life. At a 2016 campaign rally in a Las Vegas strip hotel casino, Michael Steven Sandford attempted to grab a police officer's gun. As he was taken into custody, the British national told officers that he was hoping to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.The Guardian reported that Sandford has a history of mental illness, which Judge James Mahan acknowledged in his hearing, saying that Sandford needed help and wasn't a "hardened criminal" — or even intent on assassinating Trump."I know saying sorry is not enough," Sandford told the court, the Guardian reported. "I really do feel awful about what I did. I wish there was some way to make things better. I have cost taxpayers so much money. I feel terrible."On May 6, KYT 24 reported that Sandford had been deported to the UK, after being in US custody for about 11 months. Business Insider USA

Trump posted on his verified Truth Social account at 8:42 p.m., thanking the Secret Service and law enforcement for their rapid response and extending his condolences to the families of the victims.

"It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!" Trump wrote.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing as authorities seek to uncover more details about the shooter and his motives.