US - Shots fired at Donald Trump rally in Pennsylvania as former president is seen with blood across his face, 13 July 2024

[Cedars]

The shocking assassination attempt against Donald Trump is likely to lead to a ramping up of security across the American political landscape as the 2024 presidential election continues to play out against a backdrop of rising political violence.

In the immediate future there are set to be increased efforts to prevent any violence of disruption at the Republican convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this week which now will unfold against a backdrop of the attempt on Trump’s life.

Given the stunning lapse in security at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which saw a single gunman repeatedly shoot at Trump from the roof of a building near to the stage from which he was speaking, the already huge effort in Milwaukee will be tightened further. A senior federal official told NBC that RNC security plans are being reexamined after the assassination attempt.

The Trump campaign’s co-managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita also sent a memo following the shooting to campaign staff confirming that the RNC convention will continue as planned, though it also asked staff to avoid campaign offices in Washington and Florida “as they’re assessed” and would be “enhancing the armed security presence with 24/7 officers on-site”.

The Wisconsin governor, Tony Evers, said on social media: “My staff and I are in contact with those coordinating security planning for the RNC and will continue to be in close communication as we learn more about this situation.”

Biden gives Oval Office address after assassination attempt – as it happened

This live coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump is ending now. You can read all of our coverage of this story here.

www.theguardian.com

Trump rally shooting likely to ignite higher security


Republican convention in Milwaukee will see greater efforts to prevent violence as firearm culture war roars on

Trump rally shooting likely to change election campaigns as security tightens

Security plans at Republican convention will be re-examined and Biden campaign will also be on high alert

www.theguardian.com

Perhaps there should be some sort of warning that from now on, SS are going to shoot first and ask questions later? So don't make any sudden or unusual moves in the vicinity of an election rally...

JMO

 

[JennieM]

What we know about the casualties

In addition to the gunman, who was shot and killed by Secret Service, there were three other casualties involved in last night's attack.

One adult male was killed while standing in the audience, Michael T Slupe, the Butler County sheriff, said.

Two other people, also confirmed by authorities as men, were critically injured. Details about their injuries have not been released.

Live updates: Bandaged Trump gets rapturous welcome at Republican convention

The former president makes his first public appearance since the attempted assassination, arriving with a bandaged ear to cheers and applause.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[indicolite22]

Perhaps there should be some sort of warning that from now on, SS are going to shoot first and ask questions later? So don't make any sudden or unusual moves in the vicinity of an election rally...

JMO

And don't climb on top of buildings "to see better".

 

[Seattle1]

Photo sums up how close Donald Trump came to death

A new photo shows Donald Trump narrowly avoided death during a shooting at a campaign rally.

www.dailymail.co.uk

7/14/24



A new photo shows just how close a bullet came to killing Donald Trump during a shooting at his campaign rally.

Trump was seen covered in blood after a shooter, who the FBI has since identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, shot the former president's ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, local time.

The disturbing photo shows a grey line, a moving bullet, flying just inches from Trump's head.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Mr Smith was listening from outside the rally and said he saw the gunman around five minutes into Trump's speech.

"We noticed the guy bear-crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50ft away," he said. "He had a rifle, we could clearly see a rifle.

"We're pointing at him, the police are down there running around on the ground, we're like 'Hey man, there's a guy on the roof with a rifle'... and the police did not know what was going on."

Mr Smith said he tried to alert the authorities for three to four minutes, but thought they probably could not see the gunman because of the slope of the roof.

"Why is there not Secret Service on all of these roofs here?" he asked. "This is not a big place. "[It's a] security failure, 100% security failure."

Trump rally: Witness says he saw gunman minutes before shots were fired

Greg Smith, who was outside the rally, tells the BBC he tried to alert the police.

www.bbc.com

 

[JennieM]

1m ago

Sam Jones

The AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, the weapon used in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday, is one of America’s most popular, recognisable – and notorious – weapons.

Closely related to the fully automatic military combat M-16 rifle, the AR-15 has been used in a number of recent mass shootings in the US, including the Las Vegas attack in October 2017, which killed 59 people, and the anti-LGBTQ+ attack that killed five people in Colorado Springs in November 2022.

“It is a weapon of war that is really only suitable for soldiers in a combat zone,” Lindsay Nichols, the policy director at Giffords Law Center, which pushes for gun regulations, told NBC last year. “Its ability to kill a lot of people quickly is the reason why we want it banned.”

But the weapon has been seized on by many as a symbol of the right to bear arms.

Biden gives Oval Office address after assassination attempt on Trump: ‘Politics must never be a killing field’ – latest updates

Suspect, named as Thomas Matthew Crooks, killed in shooting at Pennsylvania rally; Trump and Biden reportedly had ‘good conversation’

www.theguardian.com

 

[Fabled Automatic]

But one person shot that gun, not the 100 million being labeled as guilty by that sign.

Amen!

Sowing the seeds of divisive rhetoric is likely part of what caused this individual to fire the gun in the first place. It's asinine to respond in kind.

 

[Amonet]

Registered rep, donates to dem, shots a rep. Kind of odd.

Someone who wanted to single-handedly change history? Become part of history? Instead of being one ballot paper in amongst 200 million?

Someone who didn't care that his bad aim was going to kill an innocent person? Maybe he thought they were all as guilty as the one he was aiming at and didn't care?

If you want to do something to change the world for the better, do an act of kindness. Train to be a teacher or a doctor or a first responder. Give to charity. Don't commit murder.

 

[DS2021]

-shooter registered Republican in 2021

Theres been a lot of info moving thru here.
Do we have a source for that?

 

[Ontario Mom]

The BBC spoke with an unnamed witness who was outside the crowd standing by a nearby building in the vicinity who said he and another individual attempted to flag local and federal police about a suspicious individual who was “crawling” onto the back of a roof with a rifle.

“They blew his head off,” the witness told a BBC reporter at the rally. “The Secret Service blew his head off. They crawled up on the roof. They had their guns drawn at him.”

“Other than he was in muted colors, tan type clothing, we saw the rifle flinging around as he was trying to crawl,” the witness added.

Trump rally witness claims Secret Service blew shooter’s head off - Washington Examiner

A witness who claimed to see a gunman shoot into Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, said the Secret Service "blew his head off" afterward.

www.washingtonexaminer.com

….

I’ve seen pic of shooter after he’s dead and his head is not blown off.

I've seen the same pic. What we don't see, is the back of his head.
From the carnage we can see, it's sounding like the witness statements are correct.

jmo

 

[DS2021]

Theres been a lot of info moving thru here.
Do we have a source for that?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1812365265935499637

This man is a reporter for the intercept

 

[weepingangel]

Theres been a lot of info moving thru here.
Do we have a source for that?

He was registered to vote as a Republican, according to a listing in Pennsylvania’s voter database that matched his name, age, and a Bethel Park address that law enforcement was searching Saturday night and is linked to Crooks in public records.

This year’s presidential election would have been the first he was old enough to vote in.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/14/us/trump-shooting-thomas-matthew-crooks-intl-hnk/index.html

 

[doublestop]

Probably registered rep to vote against Trump in primary. I am willing to bet he is not really a rep.

Why? He could well have thought Trump ruined the party.

 

[Elley Mae]

I've seen the same pic. What we don't see, is the back of his head.
From the carnage we can see, it's sounding like the witness statements are correct.

jmo

The bullet appeared to exit behind his left ear.


Jmo

 

[Ontario Mom]

If you want to do something to change the world for the better, do an act of kindness. Train to be a teacher or a doctor or a first responder. Give to charity. Don't commit murder.

RS&BBM

I thought this deserved a highlight. Good reminder to all. Thank you.

 

[DS2021]

He was registered to vote as a Republican, according to a listing in Pennsylvania’s voter database that matched his name, age, and a Bethel Park address that law enforcement was searching Saturday night and is linked to Crooks in public records.

This year’s presidential election would have been the first he was old enough to vote in.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/14/us/trump-shooting-thomas-matthew-crooks-intl-hnk/index.html

Im not the brightest, does that mean 2021 is the only year he could've registered to vote?

i see usatoday says hes been registered since 2021. Is there a way to tell if hes always neen registered as repub?

 

[Seattle1]

Reportedly, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has repeatedly denied both Donald Trump and Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Secret Service protection for various reasons.

^^rsbm

https://twitter.com/x/status/1812304579452702825

 

[Elley Mae]

Exclusive | Pictured: Thomas Matthew Crooks, would-be assassin who shot former President Trump

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, has been pictured for the first time.

nypost.com

 

[Lamima]

Why? He could well have thought Trump ruined the party.

He wouldn't donate to ActBlue, I wouldn't think. If a rep.

 

[weepingangel]

<modsnip - quoted post was removed>
Dangerous indeed

Trump falsely claims Biden, FBI had plan to assassinate him during Mar-a-Lago search

The FBI issued a rare saying it followed standard protocol.

abcnews.go.com