Cop confronted Trump shooter but RETREATED when gunman pointed rifle at him... staggering new details emerge as security crisis deepens

Not long before shots rang out, rally-goers noticed a man climbing to the top of a roof of a nearby building and warned local law enforcement, according to two law enforcement officials.

One officer climbed to the roof and encountered Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer.

The officer retreated down the ladder and Crooks quickly took a shot toward former President Donald Trump, just 130 yards away.

That’s when the U.S. Secret Service counter snipers shot him, said the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

According to Butler County Sheriff Michael T. Slupe, the officer was 'gripping the roof's edge' when confronted by Crooks' rifle.

Because of his position, he did not have a gun with him and had to drop back to the ground.

'He lets go because he doesn’t want to get killed,' Slupe told the Washington Post.

'The guy is a f***ing cop, come on man!'

Many damning and terrifying questions remain unanswered after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump that is being described as an enormous security failure.

The FBI has launched a probe into what happened in the moments leading to the assassination attempt and President Biden declared he is also directing an 'independent review' of national security.

There are also allegations that Trump's team asked for more protection on the campaign but was rebuffed.

The Secret Service has since denied those claims, but the agency is still under immense scrutiny for what has been called an 'absolute failure.'

And Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., became the first lawmaker to say that the director of Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle 'needs to go.'

From Rob Crilly, Chief U.S. Political Correspondent in Milwaukee

A day after being grazed by an assassin's bullet, Donald Trump landed in Milwaukee for his party convention in a display of defiance as he demonstrates that he is already back at work.

He spent Sunday on calls to world leaders, journalists and allies before announcing that the attack would not knock him off a busy schedule.

But at the same time, aides have quietly let it be known that the convention—expected to be a rowdy, Democrat-baiting coronation for the nominee—must be a more muted affair.

Trump himself said he has completely rewritten the speech he is due to deliver on Thursday.

'Unite America!' Trump posted on Truth Social after revealing that he would be flying to Milwaukee as planned.

Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

President Joe Biden's six-minute Oval Office address contained several gaffes as the 81-year-old president's fitness for office continues to be questioned.

At the top, Biden called former President Donald Trump 'former Trump' as he condemned yesterday's assassination attempt on his political rival.

'Thankfully former Trump is not seriously injured,' Biden said.

Later he mispronounced the word ballotbox - twice - to give his statement the opposite meaning.

'In America we resolve our differences at the battlebox. Now that's how we do it. At the battlebox. Not with bullets,' the president said.

The shooting at Trump's Butler, Pennsylvania rally, which killed one rally attendee and left the gunman dead, has currently moved the political question away from whether Biden should stay on as the Democratic nominee.

Since last month's disastrous Atlanta debate, a number of members of the Democratic Party - as well as Democratic donor and A-list actor George Clooney - have pushed that Biden should bow out of the 2024 race, as they believe he will not be able to beat Trump.

President Joe Biden encouraged the country to 'cool it down' during his six-minute Oval Office address Sunday night.

The Democratic president gave remarks on the heels of the assassination attempt on his political rival, former President Donald Trump, and ahead of this week's Republican National Convention, which kicks off Monday in Milwaukee.

There's no place in America for this kind of violence - for any violence ever - period. No exceptions. We can't allow this kind of violence to be normalized. You know the political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It's time to cool it down.

Rep. Dean Phillips, who challenged Biden in the primaries by citing his health and age, declined to criticize the president in an interview as the nation copes with the Trump assassination attempt.

He said he is willing to speak about Biden and his debate collapse, but said now is not the time to do so. ‘I don’t think today is the time to have that’ conversation,’ he told CNN. ‘The country is in crisis,’ he said.

He said he ‘made my case to the country’ and would speak on the topic ‘after our country has some time to reflect’ – a sign that Biden’s political problems are not yet over.

Would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was rejected from his high school rifle team because he was a 'terrible shot,' it has emerged.

Jameson Myers, who attended school with Crooks, told ABC News:

He didn't just not make the team, he was asked not to come back because of how bad of a shot he was, it was considered like, dangerous.

Another former member of the rifle team said Crooks 'wasn't really fit for the rifle team; and 'he also shot terrible.'

Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors point guard, is with the USA squad in Abu Dhabi before they fly to France to kick off their Olympics campaign. The basketball superstar said:

This is obviously a very sad time, just in general, all the conversations around the election and the state of politics in our country, and then you have a situation like this, which just evokes a lot of emotions around things that we need to correct as a people.

Obviously gun control, first and foremost. Because the fact that that's even possible for somebody to have an attack like that, but just more so, you want positivity and hope. It sounds cheesy but it's real. That's when our country is at its best. It just adds another blemish to what's going on. So 'sad' is just the word I can come up with.

Donald Trump was already ahead in the polls but some Republicans, and some demoralized Democrats, now think he is unstoppable after surviving an assassination attempt.

Commentators across the board described the photograph of a bloodied former president raising his fist in the air as 'iconic.'

And the episode is already being used in fundraising drives.

'President Trump survives this attack — he just won the election,' Rep. Derrick Van Orden, of Wisconsin, told Politico in a brief interview.

Minutes after the shooting, a Democratic strategist messaged privately to say: 'Trump just secured his reelection.'

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

U.S. Secret Service says it does not plan to make any changes to 'operational security plans' for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.

Despite the assassination attempt on Saturday against former President Donald Trump, the USSS insists it is 'confident' in the current plan.

Regarding the request from Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) to prohibit firearms in the 'soft perimeter' of the Convention, Chief of Milwaukee Police Jeffrey Norman said they cannot superceded state open and conceal carry laws.

Norman said at a briefing in Milwauee on Sunday:

Our state law allows for the particular right to carry a firearm. We as a city cannot legislate out of that… In regards to our law enforcement aspect, we have to operate within those guidelines, unless it's something that is against state law. We have to respect Second Amendment right carry your firearm, especially in regards to open carry or carry and conceal if you're licensed.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (pictured above with President Joe Biden) is demanding reconsideration of the decision to allow firearms within the 'soft permieter' of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.

The Democratic Governor's request to the Secret Sertvice comes after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Evers believes it is 'exceedingly important that additional steps be taken to keep convention participants and attendees, law enforcement and the local community safe,' a source familiar with discussions told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The GOP Convention officially starts on Monday, but the former president is arriving in Milwaukee in Sunday afternoon and many kick-off events have already started.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

The identites of the two rally goers critically injured in the assassination attempt against Donald Trump are now revealed.

Pennsylvania State Police identified David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township as the two individuals shot when a gunman tried to take out the former president at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Both were injured and taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Dutch and Copenhaver are in 'stable' condition, according to the police statement.

I want to begin by saying that I am grateful that former President Trump is safe following yesterday’s horrific assassination attempt. On behalf of the entire Justice Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the loved ones of the spectator who was killed. Our hearts are with them, and with those critically injured and their families.

And I am deeply grateful to the agents and law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line during yesterday’s attack.

I spent the morning in briefings with Justice Department personnel as well as our partners across the federal government.

And earlier today, I briefed President Biden in the Situation Room on our investigation of yesterday’s shooting.

I have directed the FBI, the ATF, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and the Department’s National Security Division to bring every available resource to bear on this investigation.

I want to reiterate that the violence that we saw yesterday is an attack on our democracy itself.

The Justice Department has no tolerance for such violence. And as Americans, we must have no tolerance for it. This must stop.

The FBI said that the attempt to shoot Donald Trump was being investigated as a potential act of domestic terrorism.

They added that the shooter acted alone and had no known ideology.

'We are investigating this as an assassination attempt, but also looking at it as a potential domestic terrorism act,' said Robert Wells, assistant director of the FBI counterterrorism division.

The gun used in the attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump was an 'AR-style 556 rifle' that was purchased legally, FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek said.

Authorities believe the semi-automatic weapon was bought by the shooter's father, but do not yet know how he accessed the weapon or whether he took it without his father's knowledge, the FBI said.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has paused advertisements and digital fundraising for the time being, a DSCC aide confirmed to DailyMail.com.

It comes amid a bipartisan movement to 'turn down the temperature' with political rhetoric after the shooting.

Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and has stalled its digital fundraising in the wake of the assassination attempt against the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter that spoke with CNBC.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) also paused its digital ad push.

It's unclear when the digital fundraising will start up again.

The news comes after President Joe Biden's reelection campaign temporarily paused its efforts after the horrific shooting that left two dead – the gunman and a rally goer – and two others in critical condition.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shed doubt on whether the FBI's investigation into the assassination attempt against Donald Trump will really be fair and independent of political influence.

It came as a response to President Joe Biden's quick public address to the nation on Sunday afternoon where he gave an update on the investigation into the attack and asked Americans to wait to weigh-in until after the probe concludes.

[T]here does need to be an investigation regarding the security protocols used in Butler. The answer to the following question must be provided in short order: how did someone, armed with a rifle, get on top of a roof 150 yards away from the stage?

DC bureaucratic failures almost never result in any accountability; this time needs be to be different. Our country is in the peril its in partly because the DC ruling class has consistently evaded responsibility for its failures.

As former President Donald Trump and 50,000 people head to Milwaukee, WI for the Republican National Convention, attendees are being reminded of another attempted assassination of a former president.

On October 14, 1912, a would-be assassin attempted to kill former President Theodore Roosevelt in Milwaukee while he was campaigning.

As reporters went to pick up credentials for the convention, there is a placard on the wall in the entrance of the hotel that reads 'On this spot on October 14, 1912 an attempt was made upon the life of Theodore Roosevelt.'

It was put up to mark 100 years since the assassination attempt.

Not long before shots rang out rallygoers noticed a man climbing to the roof of a nearby building and warned local police, two law enforcement officials told the Associated Press.

One local police officer climbed on to the roof and encountered the gunman, Thomas Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer.

The officer retreated down the ladder and Crooks quickly took a shot toward Trump.

That's when Secret Service snipers shot him, said the officials.

Former FBI agent Frank Figliuzzi details what he believes happened in the events leading up to the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

The 25-year FBI veteran writes in DailyMail.com:

What the hell happened - and how was it possible? These questions will be at the heart of the FBI investigation into probable multiple failures by the Secret Service and others in the lead-up to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump .

During 25 years with the FBI, I have seen how countless similar rallies were organised and I consider it highly likely that the Secret Service was responsible for security within an enclosed perimeter, while the local police took charge of the wider zone outside.

Former President Donald Trump announced he will fly to Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention is being held this week, as planned at 3.30pm on Sunday.

After striking a defiant pose in the aftermath of Saturday's shooting, raising his fist in the air as Secret Service agents tried to hustle him off the stage, he used Truth Social to announce that nothing, not even a 'potential assassin', would stop him pressing ahead with his original plan.

In contrast, President Joe Biden canceled a Monday trip to Texas as his agencies investigate how a 20-year-old gunman came so close to killing the former president.

Trump is due to be anointed the Republican nominee and address the convention on Thursday. He will also announce his running mate during the gathering.

How on earth did a gunman who was acting suspiciously crawl onto the roof of a building 130 yards away from where former president of the United States was speaking and manage to fire at least eight shots before he was taken down?

That is just one of the damning and terrifying questions that are unanswered after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump that is being described as an enormous security failure.

Terrifying new video from TMZ has captured the moment Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, lay down on the roof of a nearby building, in full view of horrified Trump supporters, and fired towards the stage.

Crooks killed former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore, who was sat in the bleachers and died a hero protecting his family, and then hit Trump in the ear.

President Joe Biden begged Americans not to make 'assumptions' about the motives of the shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

'We don't yet have any information about the motive of the shooter. We know who he is. I urge everyone, everyone, please don't make assumptions about his motives or his affiliations,' the president said. 'Let the FBI do their job.'

Crooks was a registered Republican but had donated to a Biden-aligned political group on the day of the Democrat's 2021 inauguration.

President Joe Biden said Sunday afternoon that he would be addressing the American people from the Oval Office later tonight in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

President Joe Biden officially called the shooting at former President Donald Trump's Pennsylvania rally an 'assassination attempt' and said he had a 'short but good conversation' with the presumptive GOP nominee.

'As I said last night, there is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter. An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. Everything,' Biden said from the Roosevelt Room.

NBC's Lester Holt will interview President Joe Biden at the White House on Monday.

Holt was originally scheduled to interview Biden at the LBJ presidential library in Texas.

But Biden canceled his trip to the Lone Star State after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

Excerpts of the interview will play on Nightly News. The full interview will air at 9 pm ET.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke by telephone with former President Donald Trump on Sunday, according to sources.

He offered condolences for all the victims and offered Trump his best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Starmer was in Washington last week for a NATO summit and took power earlier this month after a landslide election victory.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said on Fox News Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle 'needs to go.'

Republicans have demanded Cheatle testify before Congress next week about how a shooter got so close to the former president.

Newly elected British MP Nigel Farage announced Sunday that he will travel to the Republican National Convention to show solidarity with his ally Donald Trump.

Farage, who speaks regularly with the former president, had been a 'maybe' for the event in Milwaukee because it clashes with business in the UK Parliament.

But he announced after the shooting that he wanted to support 'his friend' as he condemned the way the rhetoric of violence had crept into political language.

Farage, who had milkshake and wet cement thrown at him during the election campaign, told Sky News:

I was very upset and I'm still upset. I'm obviously pleased that my friend Donald has got away with it, only just, but he's got away with it. But one person is dead. Two more are fighting for their lives in hospital so it's an absolutely horrendous incident and yet somehow I'm not shocked by it.

By Morgan Phillips, Congress Reporter

A staffer for Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mo., has been fired over a social media post suggesting the Trump shooter should not have 'missed.'

'I don't condone violence but please get you some shooting lessons so you don't miss next time ooops that wasn't me talking,' the aide wrote.

'I was made aware of a post made by a staff member and she is no longer in my employment,' the congressman said in a statement to DailyMail.com.

Ivanka Trump is at her father's side after the horrific attempt on his life.

The former first daughter met Donald Trump upon his arrival in Bedminster, N.J., on Saturday night after the attempted assassination.

The two are extremely close. She spoke with him on the phone while he was in the hospital on Saturday night, sources close to the campaign told DailyMail.com.

'She is currently in Bedminster, where she’s been primarily living this summer, and met him upon his arrival last night as well as this morning,' the source said.

President Joe Biden canceled his trip to Texas.

He was scheduled to be there on Monday to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act during a visit to the LBJ Presidential Library.

He was also scheduled to be interviewed by NBC News at the library.

A GoFundMe page set up by a Trump staffer to help the families of those killed or wounded in the shooting has raised more than $1.5 million in little more than 15 hours.

It was set up Meredith O'Rourke, the campaign's national finance director, and endorsed by Trump himself.

Among the top donors are musician Kid Rock and UFC CEO Dana White, who both contributed $50,000 to the cause.

Former 2024 Republican hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy sent $30,000 to help and conservative personality Ben Shapiro donated $15,000.

From Rob Crilly, chief U.S. political correspondent

If the campaign wasn't hard enough already for President Joe Biden, it got even trickier last night.

Immediately his campaign halted much of its work and went about pulling down TV ads.

Now it has to work out a way forward. It had hoped to remind voters of the chaos, angry rhetoric and violent protests during Trump's time in office, offering voters a clear choice between two very different presidents.

But Biden will have to steer clear of attacks on his opponent now. Expect him instead to focus on more general condemnations of political violence.

When he speaks in a few minutes, he will have to try to lower the temperature, while campaign will have to find a new way forward.

As an official told the Associated Press:

This changes everything. We're still assessing. Making the case against Trump, drawing that split screen, will get much harder.

A Democratic congressman just posted a long thread on the problems of how the election was already being framed. This is the crux of Rep. Jared Golden's argument:

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Corey Comperatore, the retired fire chief killed during the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, died a hero.

Shapiro said Comperatore dove on his family to shield them from the hail of bullets when Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

He said Comperatore was a self-proclaimed 'girl dad' and firefighter.

Corey went to church every Sunday for a loved his community. And most especially Corey loves his family. Corey was an avid supporter of the former president, and was so excited to be there last night with him in the community.

I asked Coery's wife, if it would be okay for me to share that we spoke. She said yes. She also asked that I share with all of you that Corey died a hero.

This is a moment where all leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity. For all leaders, we need to take down the temperature and rise above the hateful rhetoric that exists in search for a better brighter future for this nation.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is now expected to speak at the upcoming GOP Convention in Milwaukee, according to the Wall Street Journal.

She previously disclosed that she was not invited to attend, but released her 97 delegates to vote for Trump at the event.

Haley 'was not invited, and she’s fine with that,' said her spokesman last week. 'Trump deserves the convention he wants. She’s made it clear she’s voting for him and wishes him the best.'

When asked about the Haley snub last week, Donald Trump said he would look into it.

President Joe Biden will speak from the White House at 1:30 p.m. ET.

He will address the nation from the Roosevelt Room, the White House announced.

The president is currently in the Situation Room getting briefed on the assassignation attempt against Donald Trump.

He spoke to the former president last night. Biden returned to the White House on Saturday night, cutting short his weekend in Rehobot

h Beach.

The first classmate of gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks spoke with local reporters.

He described Crooks, who went to Bethel Park High School as a loner who was bullied relentlessly.

He also said he wore 'hunting' outfits often in class.

President Joe Biden is in the Situation Room of the White House being briefed on the assassignation attempt on Donald Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris is with him.

They are being briefed by law enforcement officials and homeland security officials, including:

Attorney General Merrick Garland

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

FBI Director Christopher Wray

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall

Director of United States Secret Service Kim Cheatle

Here is more of what Secret Service agents and Trump said amid the chaos after he was shot.

Agent: 'Let’s move. Let’s move.'

Trump: 'Let me get my shoes. Let me get my shoes.'

Agent 2: 'I got you sir. I got you sir.'

Trump: 'Let me get my shoes on.'

Agent: 'Hold on. Your head is bloody.'

Agent 2: 'Sir we’ve got to move to the car, sir.'

Trump: 'Let me get my shoes.'

Female agent: 'OK.'

Trump: 'Wait, wait, wait.'

Trump: (Fist pumping): 'Fight. Fight. Fight.'

Agent: 'We got to move. We got to move.'

Vice President Kamala Harris postponed a campaign trip to Donald Trump’s backyard after Saturday’s horrific shooting.

Harris was to visit Palm Beach County in Florida – where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home is located – on Tuesday, just two days before he accepts the Republican presidential nomination.

‘In light of the horrific shooting in Pennsylvania, the vice president’s planned campaign trip to Florida has been postponed,’ a Biden-Harris 2024 aide told the Palm Beach Post.

Here is how the Secret Service agents around Trump reacted. Their words were picked up on microphones.

'Spare' means the spare car for Trump and 'Hawkeye' is the codename for the assault team.

Male agent: 'Get down, get down, get down.'

Female agent: 'What are we doing, what are we doing. Where are we going?'

Male agent 2: 'Go around to the spare, go around to the spare.'

Male agent 3: 'Move to the spare. Hold. Hold, When you’re ready. On you.'

Male agent 2: 'Ready'

Male agent 3: 'Move'

Male agent 2: 'Up'

Male agent 3: 'Move!'

Male agent 4: 'Go, go, go.'

Male agent 2: 'Hawkeye’s here.'

Female agent: 'Hawkeye’s here, moving to the spare.'

The member of the crowd killed in the assassination attempt on Donald Trump has been identified.

Corey Comperatore, the retired  fire chief of Buffalo Township was sitting behind the former president shot and killed by gunman 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Members of the audience tried to save the father's life in the bleachers in Butler; Pennsylvania after Crooks opened fire from a rooftop 130 yards away.

Family members paid tribute Comperatore who was well-known in the community.

His sister wrote on Facebook: 'The PA Trump Rally claimed the life of my brother, Corey Comperatore.

'The hatred for one man took the life of the one man we loved the most. He was a hero that shielded his daughters.

'His wife and girls just lived through the unthinkable and unimaginable. My baby brother just turned 50 and had so much life left to experience.

'Hatred has no limits and love has no bounds. Pray for my sister-in-law, nieces, my mother, sister, me and his nieces and nephews as this feels like a terrible nightmare but we know it is our painful reality.'

The attendee who was fatally shot at the Trump rally has been identified as Butler former fire chief for Buffalo Township, Corey Comperatore, according to WPXI. Comperatore had retired from the fire department.

Two others remain critically injured at the hospital.

The Secret Service has rejected claims the former President Donald Trump was denied additional protection before the attempted assassination as the agency faced mounting questions over the failure in security.

Secret Service spokesman Andrew Guglielmi hit back at 'untrue' allegations from Republicans and members of the former president's inner circle that requests for a bigger security detail were rebuffed.

Agents shot and killed 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks after he shot Trump while he was speaking to a crowd of thousands of adoring fans in Butler, Pennsylvania.

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said Republicans are working with 40 law enforcement agencies and feel 'comfortable' as they gear up for the Republican National Convention this week after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

'In terms of the physical sense, the arena is set. The security is here,' said Whatley on Fox News Sunday.  'We feel very comfortable that we're working with the Secret Service. We're working with 40 different law enforcement agencies in terms of what that security is going to look like.'

He said it is going to be a facility where they can have 50,000 people who are 'going to be safe.'

Whatley emphasized how important the convention is to the political process and nominating Trump for president and his vice presidential pick.   He noted what 'clearly' will change is the mood and mentioned the outpouring of prayers.

Whatley said the message of unity and strength are very important and said as of Sunday morning that politics is secondary.  Whatley vowed following the convention they will get back in the field and get to work.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Donald Trump's would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks had explosive devices in the car he drove to the Pennsylvania rally and used a gun purchased by his father.

Authorities found the devices in his vehicle after he was shot and killed by Secret Service agents, moments after he opened fire on the former president, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The 20-year-old used an AR-style firearm that was legally purchased by his father to carry out the attempted assassination against the former president.

Neighbors who spoke to DailyMail.com said Crooks' family is quiet and keeps to themselves.

The vehicle driven by Crooks on Saturday was parked near the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania and police say they received multiple reports of suspicious packages.

This prompted police to dispatch bomb technicians.

Crooks' home was searched and authorities spoke with his family.

The group of potential vice presidential candidate picks for former President Donald Trump are rallying behind the ex-president after the assassination attempt on Saturday with some blaming Biden and Democrats in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

The former president could reveal his GOP running mate at any time as the Republican National Convention kicks off Monday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Here's what the top potential running mates are saying:

Images from his graduation and school yearbook show Thomas Crooks.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) denounced Saturday's 'radical' assassination attempt on Donald Trump at his Pennsylvania rally.

The progressive Vermont senator told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday morning:

Politics should be kind of boring.

We have got to see is serious discussion of serious issues and not this kind of harsh rhetoric.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Donald Trump 's senior campaign advisor says the former president life was saved by his decision to reference charts on the jumbotron at his Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.

Dan Scavino Jr. said a slight move of Trump's head to the visual aid on screen was the reason a bullet grazed his ear rather than went through his head.

Thank God last nights rally was one in which President Trump wanted to use and reference the jumbotron, causing him to slightly move his head at the moment shots were fired.

Lauren Boebert, the Republican congresswoman from Colorado, tells KUSA in Denver:

I do believe that Joe Biden is responsible for the shooting.

Everyone who has called him (Trump) a fascist, everyone who has called him a threat to democracy, who said that he should be put in a bullseye as Joe Biden said, they need to have some very deep reflection tonight before another tragedy like this takes place.

From Senior U.S. Politics Reporter Charlie Spiering in Bethel Park, PA

Pam, a woman from Michigan, had set up a large display of Trump merchandise just outside the venue.

She heard the gunshots, telling DailyMail.com: 'All of a sudden you saw the screaming and running people. I'm numb a little bit, how can someone feel the right to do that? It's just evil. They hate Trump ... what such an unholy person.'

Bill Bailey - another Trump supporter - said: 'I fear for his safety, I've had a terrible feeling in my gut for the last few months.'

'Right before the convention, it's right after this rhetoric of the Supreme Court with people calling for Biden to use his newfound power of immunity to order the assassination of Trump.'

'There's been so much talk about Trump's assassination in the past two weeks. All that talk just gives crazy people stuff in their head.'

Oversight Chair James Comer said he expects to have an 'emergency hearing' with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle next Monday, July 22.

Cheatle has not yet confirmed she'll be able to attend the hearing.

The Oversight Committee is looking into the Secret Service's handling of the shooting, the Homeland Security Committee is probing the Department of Homeland Security Angle and the Intelligence Committee will handle the FBI angle.

Top Republicans have blamed Joe Biden's campaign rhetoric for the assassination attempt on Donald Trump which rocked American democracy to the core.

Vivek Ramaswamy and JD Vance are among those blasting Biden in the aftermath of the chilling attack at Trump's Pennsylvania rally on Saturday evening - while also sparking urgent questions about major security failings.

The Secret Service is under the microscope for allowing the gunman to crawl over the closest roof to a presidential nominee, after the Department for Homeland Security allegedly rejected requests from Trump's people for greater security - something the department has denied.

With the Republican Convention set to get underway within hours as officials probe the Trump assassination attempt, a senior official said security at the event will be ‘reexamined.’

A host of federal agencies have already been planning for months on how to secure the convention designated as a national security event. ABC News quoted a senior federal official saying the elaborate security plan would be reexamined.

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Jonson told CNN, asked about the arrangements, ‘I know there’s a lot of manpower here and that’s the first stop of security, you have to have people, law enforcement people present to deter any kind of violence.’

He added, ‘I’m not concerned about Wisconsin citizens, I’d be concerned about outside agitators. But obviously I think this is just going to heighten security. It needs to be heightened.’

Speaker Mike Johnson called on both parties to 'turn the rhetoric down' that could provoke political violence such as the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

'America awakens to a rather surreal morning. This is a horrific act of political violence that ought to be roundly condemned. Obviously, we can’t go on like this as a society,' Johnson said on NBC's Today.

He said he'd been briefed by law enforcement and had spoken to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas the previous night.

'I’ve already announced that Congress will do a full investigation of the tragedy yesterday to determine where there were lapses in security and anything else that the American people need to know and deserve to know. But in the meantime, we’ve got to turn the rhetoric down. We’ve got to turn the temperature down in this country.'

The Secret Service hit back online about claims the former President Trump’s team had sought additional security.

‘There’s an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed,’ wrote Secret Service spokesman Andrew Guglielmi on X. ‘This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo.’

It comes as congressional Republicans are preparing to conduct a ‘full investigation’ of the Trump assassination attempt and question head of the Secret Service for questioning about the incident.

Dramatic footage of the incident shows Secret Service agents rushing to protect Trump after the Pennsylvania shooting, but the agency was not present during a law enforcement briefing and faces questions about how the suspected shooter was able to gain access to a high roof near the event site.

Yearbook images have surfaced of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who opened fire on former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania.

Crooks is a 20-year-old registered Republican who has donated to Joe Biden in the past. He fired at least eight bullets from a rooftop just 130 yards from where Trump, 78, was on stage in Butler speaking to thousands of fans at 6:15pm on Saturday.

Bethel Park School District verified his 2022 graduation and vowed full cooperation with investigators.

A resident who wanted to remain anonymous confirmed the identity of the gunman to DailyMail.com.

Crooks was shot dead by a US Secret Service sniper after he opened fire on the former President.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

A new NBC poll has Donald Trump up against Joe Biden by two percent.

The survey was conducted July 7-9 – before the assassination attempt against Trump on Saturday – but still has the former president ahead of Biden 45 pecent to 43 percent.

When Trump is put up against Vice President Kamala Harris he is also two points ahead 47 percent to 45 percent.

Harris is being floated as a replacement for Biden on the Democratic ticket in November if the president caves to pressure within the party for him to step aside after his disastrous debate performance last month.

The Kremlin said on Sunday it did not believe the U.S. administration was behind the assassination attempt, according to a Reutesrs report, but said it was responsible for creating an atmosphere that provoked the attack.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters:

We do not believe that the attempt to eliminate and assassinate Trump was organised by the current authorities. But the atmosphere around candidate Trump ... provoked what America is confronting today.

He went on to use language similar to Trump allies in blaming the Biden administration.

After numerous attempts to remove candidate Trump from the political arena - using first legal tools, the courts, prosecutors, attempts to politically discredit and compromise the candidate - it was obvious to all outside observers that his life was in danger.

Donald Trump pumped his fist in the air with blood streaming across his face seconds after being shot in the ear by a gunman in stunning images seen across the world.

The former president, 78, survived the horrifying assassination attempt when the bullet missed him by less than an inch on Saturday afternoon, at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

It came eight minutes after he took the stage at 6:03pm ET, where Trump began his remarks and pointed to a large graphic in the same direction where the shooter was perched atop an AGR International building.

'The same bureau that investigated the Las Vegas shooting and the January 6th pipe bombs is now investigating the attempted assassination of Trump. This is also the same bureau that raided Mar-a-Lago. I’m sure they’ll get to the bottom of this soon,' Rep. Thomas Massie wrote on X.

The FBI has launched an investigation into how an assassin was able to aim shots at the former president.

From Senior U.S. Politics Reporter Charlie Spiering in Bethel Park, PA

Trish from Bethel Park passed by the police barricade while taking a walk.

'Shocking, shocking, and very sad,' she told DailyMail.com.'

Very quiet neighborhood, very surprising and shocking,' she added.

A man answering the door of a home nearby flying an upside-down American flag refused to talk to reporters.

It's a quiet neighborhood that has no political signs in yards except for a few homes with a 'Stronger Together' sign urging American unity.

After he was shot in 1981 Reagan wrote in his diary:

Whatever happens now I owe my life to God and will try to serve him in every way I can.

He added:

But I realized I couldn’t ask for God's help while at the same time I felt hatred for the mixed up young man who had shot me. Isn’t that the meaning of the lost sheep? We are all Gods children and therefore equally beloved by him. I began to pray for his soul and that he would find his way back to the fold.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said America is waking up to a 'surreal morning' the day after a shooter tried to kill former President Donald Trump.

The Louisiana Republican told NBC's Today Show on Sunday morning:

Obviosuly we can't go on like this as a society.

Johnson said he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Saturday night and that congressional leaders were briefed on the assassination attempt.

From Rob Crilly, Chief U.S. Political Correspondent

Trump's top two campaign officials sent a memo this morning saying that the convention in Milwaukee will go ahead as planned, but warning staff to be extra vigilant in the days ahead

Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles say the former president is in 'great spirits,'

They thank first responders and the Secret Service as well as urging their team to stay away from the office for 24 hours as extra security is added.

We are enhancing the armed security presence with 24/7 officers on-site. Additional security assessments will be in place. Our highest priority is to keep all of you on this staff safe. We also urge you to recognize the political polarization in this heated election. If something looks or feels off, please flag it immediately for leadership or an on-site security team.  Please do not comment publicly on the occurrence of today. We condemn all forms of violence, and will not tolerate dangerous rhetoric on social media.

From Senior U.S. Politics Reporter Charlie Spiering in Bethel Park, PA

Mike a resident of the Bethel Park area told DailyMail.com he was surprised to wake up to find police tape roping off his home.

He said he was watching TV from his home when he found out about the news.

'Not good,' he said, 'Crazy.'

He said he got a text from a friend telling him that the shooter was from Bethel Park.

'I'm still shocked,' Mike, a support of Trump, said. 'I'm glad he's all right, I guess the bullet grazed his ear,'

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Donors have contributed upwards of $265,000 to a GoFundMe to support the families of wounded and deceased caught in the crossfires of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

The fundraiser is authorized by Trump’s campaign and more than 3,700 people have contributed.

A description of the GoFundMe notes:

President Donald Trump has authorized this account as a place for donations to the supporters and families wounded or killed in today’s brutal and horrific assassination attempt. All donations will be directed to these proud Americans as they grieve and recover. May God bless and unite our nation.

A gunman shot at Trump during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon as the former president prepares to head to Milwaukee for the GOP Convention this week.

DailyMail.com's Charlie Spiering reports:

Trump writes on Truth Social:

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness.

Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.

I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin.