PA - Assassination attempt, shooting injures former POTUS Donald Trump, leaves 1 spectator deceased two in critical condition, 13 July 2024 #4

[Mica]

[…]
Air Force veteran Bill Jenkins, 62, was on the range at Keystone Shooting Centre in Cranberry, Pennsylvania, with Crooks less than a month before he managed to get off eight shots at the Republican presidential nominee as he spoke at a rally, grazing his ear.
[…]
Jenkins, who has been questioned by the FBI over his eerie encounter with Crooks, recalled how they took an intermediate handgun course together at the range in Cranberry, Pa. — about a 30-minute drive from Butler, where the shooting took place on July 13.
[…]
The course claims to help “improve accuracy and distance through stance, grip and follow through,” according to its website and, alongside the instructor, Jenkins and Crooks were the only two taking it that day.

Crooks was dressed in casual attire and brought his own 9mm handgun to the class, according to Jenkins.

“The course went on for three hours and I could see this kid was confident with guns. When we went to the range he started shooting
straight away,” Jenkins told the outlet. “It seemed like he had experience with weapons.”
[…]
“I noticed on his target at ten yards he blew a big hole right through the centerpiece,” Jenkins recounted to The Sun. “I congratulated him on how good he’d done and he just laughed.”
[…]

Would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks was ‘real evil’ but a good shot, according to shooting range classmate

Days before unleashing gunfire at presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa., suspect Thomas Mathew Crooks went to a gun range to hone his skills, according to a man w…

nypost.com

 

[justtrish]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1816957161840263646

https://twitter.com/x/status/1816957190835409113

This is amazing! I hope the rally is packed with American people from both sides of the aisle in a show of support that violence against our political process won't be tolerated. I wish I lived close enough to attend.

 

[SouthAussie]

Looks like Crooks got the notoriety that he wanted, someone(s) has set up a Wiki page about him.

Thomas Matthew Crooks - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Dotta]

This is amazing! I hope the rally is packed with American people from both sides of the aisle in a show of support that violence against our political process won't be tolerated. I wish I lived close enough to attend.

I bet ALL roofs in vicinity
WILL be covered by Special Service and others
Fingers crossed!!!

 

[Fabled Automatic]

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/20/trump-shooting-doctor-letter-00169963

It looks like 2 holes on the top of the ear.

<modsnip: Image removed. Members can view at link if they wish.>

I feel like he should have been more transparent about his injury early on.

Donald Trump Former Prez All Ears, No Bandage ... Seemingly No Injury

 

[GatorFL]

I feel like he should have been more transparent about his injury early on.

Donald Trump Former Prez All Ears, No Bandage ... Seemingly No Injury

View attachment 520831

IMO it's healed.

Also that photo is in terrible lighting so it's grainy.

I got caught up in the Netanyahu motorcade yesterday, lost an hour of my day.

 

[shotgun09]

I feel like he should have been more transparent about his injury early on.

Donald Trump Former Prez All Ears, No Bandage ... Seemingly No Injury

View attachment 520831

As far as his transparency and " early on"......The shot was caught live on video! There isn't a more earlier view! There was an immediate reaction, hand to his right ear then a bloody face, hand and ear showed as he was pushed down then brought back up by SS personnel. You cannot get more early on transparency than that. IMO

 

[GRT]

I feel like he should have been more transparent about his injury early on.

Donald Trump Former Prez All Ears, No Bandage ... Seemingly No Injury

I thought his media team was fairly transparent from the start. The bullet only grazed his ear. Enough to make blood trickle down, but no more. I don't recall anyone saying it was worse than just a graze.

But, knowing Trump, he probably had makeup put on his ear if it still had redness or looked bad. I think he's pretty passionate about looking good.

He was just very lucky on that unlucky day. The shooter could have used a bolt-action rifle instead of an AR15--and Trump might not have been as lucky.

 

[Fabled Automatic]

As far as his transparency and " early on"......The shot was caught live on video! There isn't a more earlier view! There was an immediate reaction, hand to his right ear then a bloody face, hand and ear showed as he was pushed down then brought back up by SS personnel. You cannot get more early on transparency than that. IMO

Transparent about his injury. There was never any report or official update, aside from the words of a close personal friend of his.

I'm not saying he wasn't injured, by any means. I'm just pointing out that his unwillingness to be transparent has led to speculation.

 

[GatorFL]

Transparent about his injury. There was never any report or official update, aside from the words of a close personal friend of his.

I'm not saying he wasn't injured, by any means. I'm just pointing out that his unwillingness to be transparent has led to speculation.

He was shot while being filmed at a rally. He gave a whole speech about being shot at the convention. How much more transparent could it be?

 

[Fabled Automatic]

I thought his media team was fairly transparent from the start. The bullet only grazed his ear. Enough to make blood trickle down, but no more. I don't recall anyone saying it was worse than just a graze.

Two days after the incident Trump maintained the bullet "ripped through" his 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," Trump said. "Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”

Trump Says He Was Shot, With Bullet Hitting Upper Right Ear

He also later stated the bullet "pierced" his ear.

Former President Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that he was “shot with a bullet,” which “pierced” his right ear, and recounted a “whizzing sound” and “shots” at his Pennsylvania rally.

“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump wrote.

Trump says bullet pierced his ear, recounts ‘whizzing sound, shots’

 

[Fabled Automatic]

He was shot while being filmed at a rally. He gave a whole speech about being shot at the convention. How much more transparent could it be?

What I said was, there was never any report or official update, aside from the words of a close personal friend of his.

I'm not sure what that has to do with the fact the shooting was filmed. Nor that he gave a speech about it. People speak about many things, speeches aren't empirical evidence, nor are they medical reports.

 

[Ruminations]

The shooter could have been using a bolt action .22LR rimfire rifle and a hit to the head would have caused substantial damage.

The problem in this case is not the type of weapon the shooter used, it's the fact that he was allowed to get really close to and fire shots at President Trump. JMO.

Or- it could have been neither.

I don't envy LE or SS when those guns with that kind of ammo are perfectly legal anywhere.

I've heard the argument that you want the good guys to have guns. But frankly, Crooks WAS a good guy up until he squeezed the trigger.

It's my opinion that it certainly does matter what guns and ammo are legal and available. Even with our seamless state borders, state laws impact gun deaths. Internationally, USA has embarrassing gun statistics.

No one needs an AR15 or such a large caliber bolt action rifle. And if they want it for sports, they could be kept at shooting ranges much more safely.

MOO

 

[Elley Mae]

Transparent about his injury. There was never any report or official update, aside from the words of a close personal friend of his.

I'm not saying he wasn't injured, by any means. I'm just pointing out that his unwillingness to be transparent has led to speculation.

Unwillingness to be transparent?

Speculation by who?
Mainstream media?
Ppl on social media?

Of all that happened and it’s down to transparency on his shot ear.

Jmo

 

[Sundog]

"Donald Trump said he plans to hold another rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, after a gunman fired an AR-15-style rifle at the former president moments after he stepped on stage in the town on July 13.

It is unclear whether Trump will return to the same open-air fairgrounds where 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks fired at the former president from a rooftop outside a security perimeter.

A statement from an FBI spokesperson later clarified that “what struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle.”

On Friday, Trump said he “fully accepted” the FBI’s latest statement as an “apology” from Wray."

Trump promises ‘big and beautiful rally’ in return to Pennsylvania town where he was shot

This doesn't surprise me, I expected an announcement like this at some point. The people who attended the Butler rally were incredibly traumatized, and a supporter was shot and killed, and two other individuals are still undergoing critical treatment. I think the security will be very tight, whether indoors or outdoors, perhaps one of the most secure events to date. And for the rally-goers, I think it will be a very uplifting and healing experience.

 

[GRT]

Two days after the incident Trump maintained the bullet "ripped through" his ear.

Trump Says He Was Shot, With Bullet Hitting Upper Right Ear

He also later stated the bullet "pierced" his ear.

Trump says bullet pierced his ear, recounts ‘whizzing sound, shots’

I think that's what happened.

MOO, but it seems as though most of those who watched the video thought the same thing. Bullets do that -- they "pierce" or "rip through." I don't think that's an unusual way to describe a bullet graze.

Now, if he would have said the bullet took his ear off, that would have been something quite different.

I actually think he played down the event. He was the target of an assassination. He came very close to losing his life that day. He was shot. Others were shot. Not everyone survived the attempt to snuff out Trump's life.

 

[GRT]

This doesn't surprise me, I expected an announcement like this at some point. The people who attended the Butler rally were incredibly traumatized, and a supporter was shot and killed, and two other individuals are still undergoing critical treatment. I think the security will be very tight, whether indoors or outdoors, perhaps one of the most secure events to date. And for the rally-goers, I think it will be a very uplifting and healing experience.

There's no way in the world I could return to that town and re-do the rally. I'd be shaking in my boots.

But, that's just me.

 

[Arkay]

I got caught up in the Netanyahu motorcade yesterday, lost an hour of my day.

I hear you, but IMO that means the Secret Service was doing its job appropriately.

I don’t want to be repetitive, but I know I’ve mentioned several times that as a lifelong New Yorker, getting stuck in a frozen zone when the president or a foreign head of state is passing by just comes with the territory, IF the SS is doing its job correctly.

If something is happening at the U.N., or a president or former president is here, then we all get stuck in a frozen zone and lose an hour or more of our lives, but of course that’s vastly preferable to an assassination or attempted assassination taking place.

The only time I remember voluntarily putting myself in this situation was when JFK Jr. died and his memorial was held at the St.Thomas More church in Manhattan.

President Clinton was there, as well as all the Kennedys and many politicians, but we wanted to see so we willingly were stuck for hours on the sidewalk a distance from the church, behind police barricades.

As you know in Florida, if you are anywhere near PBI airport, when Trump was president there were sometimes issues when we landed there if Air Force One was parked there, even though it was in a secluded area.