Back to homepage / Americas
US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Live: Trump shooting was an attempted assassination, FBI says
Republican candidate Donald Trump was the target of an attempted assassination, said FBI officials hours after the shocking shooting incident at a Pennsylvania rally. Law enforcement officers said they had tentatively identified a suspected shooter but did not disclose details. The former US president, who was shot in the ear, was “fine”, said the Trump campaign. The suspected gunman and a bystander were killed at the rally. World leaders have condemned the attack, which came just days before the Republican National Convention.
Issued on: 14/07/2024 – 07:52
Modified: 14/07/2024 – 07:54
1 min
Donald Trump, seen with blood on his face, is surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024.
Donald Trump, seen with blood on his face, is surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. © Rebecca Droke, AFP
By:
FRANCE 24
Follow
|
FRANCE 24
Republican candidate Donald Trump was the target of an attempted assassination on Saturday during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump was shot in the ear, but was doing “fine” after the shooting, said his campaign team. The suspected gunman and a bystander were killed at the rally.
The FBI identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination of Trump in a statement released early Sunday.
US President Joe Biden has condemned the assassination attempt on Trump, calling on all Americans to denounce such “sick” violence.
World leaders have condemned the attack, which came just days before the Republican National Convention.
LIVE
3 minutes ago
US media uncover details of suspected Trump shooter
US law enforcement officials at a press conference late Saturday said the suspect at the Trump rally shooting carried no identification to the site and had to be identified by other biometric methods.
Shortly after the FBI identified the suspect as Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, US media began uncovering details of the 20-year-old Pennsylvania resident.
Crooks lived about an hour away from where the shooting took place in Butler.
When he was 17, Crooks made a $15 donation to ActBlue, a political action committee that raises money for left-leaning and Democratic politicians, according to a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing. The donation was earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that rallies Democrats to vote, Reuters reported.
The groups did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN that he was trying to figure out what happened and would wait until he spoke to law enforcement before speaking about his son.
The suspect graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He received a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to the newspaper.
A 2022 graduation ceremony video cited by the New York Times shows Crooks receiving his high school diploma to some applause.
Video from that ceremony posted online shows Crooks with glasses in a black graduation gown and posing with a school official.
USA Today reported that dozens of law enforcement vehicles were stationed outside a residence listed at the address on Crooks’ voter registration record. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene and a bomb squad was at the residence, USA Today reported.
The perimeter of the residence of the suspect was guarded on Sunday by yellow police caution tape. An Alleghany County Police vehicle was parked outside.
0
0
SHARE
15 minutes ago
In pictures: Assassination attempt at Trump rally
Photographers covering Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania Saturday captured the shocking assassination attempt and the immediate aftermath.
As US Secret Service agents rushed to secure Trump amid shocked reactions from bystanders, photographers continued to capture scenes that will go down in the annals of US history.
Here’s a FRANCE 24 selection of images of the assassination attempt:
France 24
In pictures: Gunshots, screams, shock as Trump escapes attempted assassination at rally
Former US president Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at an election rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The suspected gunman and a bystander were killed and two bystanders were seriously…
Read the article on https://www.france24.com
0
0
SHARE
26 minutes ago
China’s Xi ‘expressed sympathy’ to Trump
China’s President Xi Jinping has expressed his “compassion and sympathy” to Donald Trump after the assassination attempt.
“China is closely following the situation surrounding the shooting of former President Donald Trump,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.
1
0
SHARE
an hour ago
Germany’s Scholz condemns ‘despicable’ shooting at Trump rally
Germany’s Olaf Scholz has called the shooting at the Trump campaign rally a despicable act, describing the violent attack as a threat to democracy.
In a post on X, Scholz said: “The attack on US presidential candidate Donald Trump is despicable. I wish him a speedy recovery. My thoughts are also with the people who were affected by the attack. Such acts of violence threaten democracy.”
0
0
SHARE
an hour ago
Voter status record shows suspect was a registered Republican: US media
The FBI early Sunday identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the “subject involved” in what it termed an “attempted assassination” of Trump.
While law enforcement officials have not released details about Crooks, US reporters have traced Crooks on Pennsylvania state’s voter status record, which identify Crooks as a registered Republican.
2
0
SHARE
2 hours ago
Russia says US must ‘take stock of policies inciting hatred’
Moscow has called on the US to “take stock” of its “policies of incitement to hatred”, while using the assassination attempt on Donald Trump to denounce US support for Ukraine.
Addressing “those who vote in the United States to supply arms” to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova denounced support for Kyiv, which she said stoked “attacks against the Russian president”.
Perhaps it would be better to use this money to fund the American police and other services that are supposed to ensure law and order in the United States?” she added.
0
0
SHARE
2 hours ago
Ukraine’s Zelensky ‘appalled’ over Trump rally shooting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has joined a chorus of world leaders condemning the shooting at a Trump campaign rally.
“I am appalled to learn about the shooting of former U.S. President Donald Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania,” he wrote on X. “Such violence has no justification and no place anywhere in the world. Never should violence prevail.”
0
0
SHARE
2 hours ago
Security lapses in focus after Trump rally shooting
Republican lawmakers have said they will launch swift investigations into how a person managed to evade Secret Service agents and climb onto the roof of a building near the spot Donald Trump was speaking at the Pennsylvania rally.
Mike Johnson, speaker of the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives, said panels in the chamber will call officials from the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI for hearings soon.
The House oversight panel called Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify on July 22.
While law enforcement agencies have not yet released details of their findings, a witness interviewed by the BBC said he had seen the man with gun and tried unsuccessfully to alert police and the Secret Service.
0
0
SHARE
2 hours ago
A ‘sad day for America’
Reporting from Washington DC, FRANCE 24’s Fraser Jackson says the attempted assassination of Donald Trump will enter the annals of US history.
0
0
SHARE
3 hours ago
Macron calls Trump shooting ‘a tragedy for our democracies’
French President Emmanuel Macron has wished Donald Trump a speedy recovery and said the shooting was “a tragedy for our democracies”.
0
1
SHARE
3 hours ago
EU chief von der Leyen ‘deeply shocked’ by shooting
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has said she was “deeply shocked” by the shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania.
“I am deeply shocked by the shooting that took place during former President Trump’s campaign rally,” the European Commission president said on X. “I wish Donald Trump a speedy recovery and offer my condolences to the family of the innocent victim. Political violence has no place in a democracy,” she said.
0
0
SHARE
3 hours ago
Suspected shooter was a registered Republican: US media
The suspected shooter at Trump’s rally, identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was a registered Republican, according to the state’s voter status records, according to the Washington Post.
1
1
SHARE
3 hours ago
World leaders condemn shooting at Trump rally, denounce political violence
Leaders from several nations have expressed shock over the attempted assassination of Trump and have wished Trump a quick recovery.
FRANCE 24
World leaders react in ‘shock’ to Trump rally shooting
Presidents and prime ministers around the world expressed shock at the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump, which left him injured during an election rally, which resulted in…
Read the article on https://www.france24.com
0
0
SHARE
3 hours ago
Trump seen walking off his plane after shooting: video
Donald Trump has been seen walking off his plane unaided hours after surviving an assassination bid, in a video posted by his deputy communications director on social media.
Trump, in a navy suit and white shirt without a tie, can be seen descending a staircase from his plane as an armed agent stands guard, in the video posted by Margo Martin on X. His right ear, which was injured in the attempt, cannot be seen in the footage.
The New York Times reported that he was in New Jersey, where he will spend the night.
1
0
SHARE
3 hours ago
FBI identifies Thomas Matthew Crooks as ‘subject involved’ in Trump shooting
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, US media is reporting.
“The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania,” the FBI said in a statement quoted by NBC and CBS.
0
0
SHARE
3 hours ago
Suspect shot from ‘elevated position’, says US Secret Service
The US Secret Service in its latest statement says the suspected shooter fired “multiple shots toward the stage” at the Trump rally “from an elevated position outside of the rally venue”.
0
0
SHARE
3 hours ago
Biden leads condemnation of attack on Trump
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country,” said US President Joe Biden at an emergency briefing at his house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
FRANCE 24
Biden condemns ‘sick’ violence after Trump injured in campaign rally shooting
US President Joe Biden condemned an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday. Leaders from both political parties swiftly denounced the attack, while some Republicans…
Read the article on https://www.france24.com
0
0
SHARE
3 hours ago
FBI ‘close to an identification’ of shooter
Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt, said the FBI at press conference that ended shortly after midnight ET.
Law enforcement officials said they were not prepared to release the identity of the shooter and had not yet identified a motive for the assassination attempt.
“At this time we are not prepared to identify who the shooter is, we are close to an identification,” Special Agent Kevin Rojek told reporters, saying agents were “working feverishly” to confirm.
“We have no reason to believe that there is any other existing threat out there,” said Pennsylvania State Police Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens.
1
0
SHARE
4 hours ago
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Republican campaign rally on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.
0
0
SHARE
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
