What to know
- A gunman opened fire on former President Donald Trump at a rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.
- Authorities identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park. He was a member of a local gun club and worked as a dietary aide at a nursing facility. He was a registered Republican who once made a $15 donation to a progressive political organization.
- More than a dozen guns were found at Crooks' family's home, four senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.
- Police went to the Crooks home after his father called police saying he was worried because his son and his AR rifle were missing, three senior officials said. The call came after Crooks opened fire at the rally.
- Authorities have not been able to determine a motive for the attempted assassination.
FBI working 24 hours a day on Crooks' phone and laptop
Technicians at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, are working 24 hours a day, forensically analyzing Thomas Crooks' cellphone and laptop computer, senior FBI officials told NBC News.
The FBI said in a statement earlier today that the technicians had successfully gained access to his phone.
The officials said that while it took a day to unlock the phone, the lab eventually did so on its own and without help from any outside firm — as was the case after the 2015 San Bernardino, California, mass shooting, when the FBI relied on a little-known Australian firm to assist in unlocking one of the shooter’s phones.
The searches of the electronic devices have yet to reveal a motive, but the analysis continues.
The FBI also expects to release more information about the explosive device found in Crooks' car.
Shooter's high school counselor 'flabbergasted' it was him
A former high school counselor who knew Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks all four years he attended Bethel Park High School said he was stunned and “flabbergasted” to find out Crooks was the gunman.
“Thomas was a quiet young man, an intelligent young man, but he did keep to himself,” former school counselor Jim Knapp said.
“He had a handful of friends. In the cafeteria, I’d sit down with him and I’d say, ‘Thomas, would you like me to get some kids over here?’ And he’d say, ‘Nope, Mr. Knapp, I want to be by myself.’ Which is fine,” Knapp said.
Knapp said counselors at the high school met with students twice a year to go over class schedules, assist those who needed help and address any issues they were having at school.
Knapp said he never got a call from a teacher about Crooks’ getting into trouble or not doing his homework.
“Thomas was a very good student. He wasn’t in trouble. So I didn’t get those calls,” Knapp said.
Knapp said he was shocked when he learned Crooks was the shooter.
“When I got the first text on Sunday … I was flabbergasted,” Knapp said. “I go back and I think about it, and I say evil is in the world, and that’s what I believe happened with Thomas. He snapped. I believe that the devil and the evil really invaded his brain and that made him do what he did.”
House Oversight Committee formally requests documents from Secret Service
The House Oversight Committee formally requested documents from the Secret Service as it investigates the assassination attempt.
The committee plans to hold a hearing on the attack next Monday.
It requested that the Secret Service by Thursday provide a roster of personnel, all audio and video related to the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally where Trump was shot at, and any memos or notice about the assassination attempt.
A subsequent list of information — including any identified pre-site security concerns — was requested for no later than July 29.
Trump arrival at RNC sparks ‘USA! USA!’ chants from crowd
The crowd at the Republican National Convention chanted “USA! USA!” and “We love Trump,” among other cheers, as Trump arrived at the convention and went to a VIP box.
Trump had a bandage on the ear where he was wounded in an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally.
He did not take the stage at the event, where he will accept the nomination Thursday. He went to a red seating section with family members and VIPs, shaking hands and exchanging greetings with those there. He was shown on a large video screen.
Trump stood with his vice presidential nominee, JD Vance. The crowd chanted “fight, fight” and “We love Trump.”
Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric were there, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., among others.
Trump shows up at RNC with bandage on his ear
Trump arrived at the convention tonight in his first public appearance since the attempt on his life.
Trump had a bandage over his ear, which was injured in the shooting Saturday.
Mayorkas says independent review of Secret Service and police actions needs to move swiftly
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said today that he has “100% confidence” in Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and the agency and that an independent review of security will happen as quickly as possible.
“Since the attempted assassination of former President Trump, we across the government are focused with urgency to understand how it happened,” Mayorkas said at a White House briefing.
An “independent review” will look at the Secret Service and other law enforcement actions surrounding the rally and the shooting, Mayorkas said.
The review will make findings and recommendations, which will be made public, he said. Who will lead the review has not yet been decided, he said.
“We need to move with swiftness and urgency, because this is a security imperative,” Mayorkas said.
Receipt for a ladder found on gunman
A Home Depot receipt indicating the purchase of a ladder was found on the gunman in the assassination attempt, two senior officials told NBC News.
Officials are looking to see whether that ladder was taken to the site of the shooting and whether it was used to get up to the roof from where the gunman fired.
Police warned Secret Service of a suspicious person at Trump rally before gunman opened fire, source says
Before a would-be assassin took aim at Trump at his campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, local police officers notified his Secret Service detail that they were looking for a suspicious person in the area, a U.S. official told NBC News.
It is not clear what time the Secret Service was notified and whether it was before Trump took the stage on the grounds of the Butler Farm Show, a venue roughly 36 miles north of Pittsburgh. The U.S. official said the Secret Service was told of a suspicious person before local police discovered Crooks on the roof of a nearby glass research company’s building. That discovery occurred shortly before Crooks opened fire, according to two law enforcement sources.
The timing raises questions about whether other measures could have been taken to stop Crooks.
Trump says assassination attempt left 'an impact'
Trump told ABC News the attempt on his life has made “an impact” on him.
Trump said that he spoke to Biden, who called him in the hours following the attack, and that Biden “couldn’t have been nicer.”
Biden described the conversation as “very cordial” in an exclusive interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt today.
House Oversight Committee to hold hearing on Secret Service protection
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing next Monday that it says is aimed at getting answers from the director of the Secret Service over the shooting Saturday.
“The United States Secret Service has a no-fail mission, yet it failed on Saturday when a madman attempted to assassinate President Trump, killed an innocent victim, and harmed others,” Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement.
Comer said the hearing “will conduct oversight of the U.S. Secret Service to gather information from Director Kimberly Cheatle.”
It is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET.
Trump to appear at GOP convention tonight
Trump will appear at the Republican National Convention tonight, according to a source familiar with convention planning.
It will be Trump’s first public appearance since the failed attempt on his life at a rally Saturday.
Biden says he called Trump after shooting and conversation was ‘cordial’
Biden said that he called Trump after the shooting at a Trump rally and that the conversation was “very cordial.”
“I told him how concerned I was and wanted to make sure that I knew how he was actually doing,” Biden told NBC News’ Lester Holt in an interview today. “He sounded good, he said he was fine, and he thanked me for calling him.”
“I told him he was literally in the prayers of Jill and me and that I hope his whole family was weathering this,” Biden said.
Secret Service director won't resign, she tells ABC News
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will not resign after the assassination attempt on Trump, she told ABC News.
Cheatle is expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee on July 22 amid mounting scrutiny of her and the Secret Service for failing to prevent the attack.
Cheatle called the assassination attempt “unacceptable” and assumed responsibility for investigating what went wrong.
“The buck stops with me,” she told ABC News. “I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary.”
Since the shooting, there have been reports that the gunman was identified before the attack. Cheatle said that she did not yet have all the details but that only “a very short period of time” passed between then and the shooting.
The gunman shot at Trump from a rooftop outside the Secret Service’s designated perimeter, about 148 yards away from the stage where he was speaking. Cheatle confirmed that local police, who had been tasked with patrolling the outer perimeter, were inside that building.
Cheatle said she has reached out to Trump after the shooting but has not yet spoken with him.
Biden says ‘it was a mistake’ to use 'bull's-eye' regarding Trump
Biden said today that “it was a mistake” to use the word term "bull's-eye" in relation to former president Donald Trump, and that he meant there should be a focus on Trump and his policies.
“The truth of the matter was, what I guess I was talking about at the time was, there’s very little focus on Trump’s agenda,” Biden said in an interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt. “It was a mistake to use the word.”
“I didn’t say ‘crosshairs’; I meant ‘bull's-eye.’ I meant focus on him. Focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate,” Biden said.
There has been scrutiny over language after a shooting at a Trump rally that is being investigated as an assassination attempt.
“How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says?” Biden said, referring to Trump. “Do you just not say anything because it might incite somebody?”
“I have not engaged in that rhetoric,” Biden said. “Now, my opponent has engaged in that rhetoric.”
The FBI has not determined the motive for Saturday’s shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania. The 20-year-old gunman was killed.
'You can't forgive what he did,' shooter's uncle says
Reporting from Allison Park, Pa.
The shooter’s uncle said today that his nephew’s actions were unforgivable and that he feels terrible for the victims.
“You know what, you can’t forgive what he did,” said Mark Crooks, the uncle of Thomas Crooks, whom federal authorities identified as the person who opened fire during the rally over the weekend. “Look at what he did. He shot at everybody. He killed one guy and wounded a couple more.”
Mark Crooks said the shooting left him speechless.
“I can’t believe this happened. I feel for the families and victims. This is terrible,” he said.
Crooks said he hadn’t spoken to his nephew, who was killed by authorities, or his brother since his father died in 2019.
“I haven’t seen him and don’t know anything about him,” he said. "We got along when we saw each other. My brother was a private guy; he’s been like that since he was a kid, so we obliged him.”
He said he didn't know why his nephew would have fired shots at Trump.
“I don’t have an answer,” he said.
Since the shooting, Crooks said, he has tried to reach out to his family but hasn’t gotten far.
“I called [my brother], but he didn’t answer the phone, and I know he saw my name on the caller ID. I called to see how he was doing, but he didn’t call back, and that’s typical of him,” he said.
Pennsylvania gun store cooperating with law enforcement
Law enforcement officials are looking into where the shooter bought ammunition, and one of the stores they looked into was Allegheny Arms and Gun Works in Bethel Park, a six-minute drive from Crooks' home.
The store's owner, Josh Rowe, said the FBI came in the morning after the shooting. Bethel Park police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also reached out, he said.
"Had we had any information directly, we would’ve contacted law enforcement directly. I mean we would’ve contacted them first," Rowe said.
The shop said in a statement that it was “thankful” Trump was not killed and that employees’ “hearts and prayers” went out to all the victims.
“As a responsible member of our community it is our prerogative to cooperate with law enforcement in every way,” the shop wrote. “Out of respect for the ongoing investigation and that of those affected we will not make any further statements."
Law enforcement has easy access to phones
Despite years of back-and-forth debate between law enforcement agencies and tech companies, the FBI most likely had few difficulties accessing the Trump rally shooter's phone, according to Josh Brunty, director of Marshall University’s Cyber Forensics & Security program.
A senior law enforcement official told NBC News today that the FBI had gained access to Crooks' phone and that a preliminary analysis did not help establish a motive for the attack.
It has been nine years since the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, which prompted a monthslong standoff between the FBI and Apple, which said the FBI’s demands that it rewrite iOS software to help access a phone would undermine security for all users.
Since then, the market for new software vulnerabilities has exploded, and the niche industry of companies that provide hacking tools to law enforcement has become much more sophisticated, Brunty said.
“If law enforcement can get that phone, they’re going to get access to the data on it. They’re going to be able to bypass the mechanisms that are there,” he said.
After a preliminary analysis, forensics teams oftentimes build a comprehensive “pattern of life” analysis that looks at information like a suspect’s social media channels, location history and chat records, Brunty said.
While technology has developed rapidly in the nearly nine years since the shooting in San Bernardino, the legal outlook is not much different, said NBC News legal analyst Chuck Rosenberg, a former top FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration official.
“The legal landscape has not changed very much,” Rosenberg said. “What has changed is that people leave a lot more digital dust than they ever did before. But in a case like this, it’s not clear that will get you to where you need to be.”
There are, of course, other ways to establish facts beyond getting into a suspect’s cellphone: The FBI has already searched the shooter’s residence and vehicle and conducted over 100 interviews in connection with the case.
“But do you want to get in as an investigator? Absolutely,” Rosenberg said of the phone. “From an investigator’s or prosecutor’s perspective, there’s no such thing as too much evidence.”
Two wounded victims in critical but stable condition
The two Pennsylvania men who were shot and wounded in the shooting are still in the hospital.
James Copenhaver, 74, and David Dutch, 57, are in critical but stable condition, according to a spokesperson for the Allegheny Health Network.
National Latino group says violence 'has no place' in politics
The Latino advocacy group UnidosUS, which is meeting in Las Vegas this week and where Biden is scheduled to speak, said violence has no place in politics.
“Despite our differences, we are glad that the President is safe, and our thoughts go out to the victims at the rally," UnidosUS President Janet Murguia said in a statement. "As we have said many times, violence has no place in American politics. It’s why we have a democracy. We should never have to settle our disputes with violence. We have elections.”
One victim wounded at Trump rally was a Marine veteran
The Marine Corps League offered its support for one of the injured victims who was a Marine veteran.
David Dutch, 57, a member of the league, is one of two spectators shot and wounded at the rally. A third person was killed.
Dutch is a commandant of Westmoreland Detachment #1416 in the Department of Pennsylvania, National Commandant and CEO Warren Griffin said.
“Our immediate support continues for David and his family as he continues his recovery from this attack,” Griffin said in a statement. “We offer solace for David and his family along with eternal thoughts and prayers for all the victims of this tragedy.”
Griffin condemned the attack, saying the league is charged with supporting the “founding principles in which this country was established” to remain tolerant and respectful of differing opinions and beliefs.
Dutch, of New Kensington, was stable, officials said today.
FBI accessed shooter's phone; still no indication of motive
The FBI has accessed Crooks' phone, but based on a preliminary analysis, the information has not helped investigators determine a motive for the attempted assassination, a senior U.S. law enforcement official.
FBI probing whether ammo was bought days before shooting
The FBI is looking into whether some ammunition was bought in the days before the shooting, according to a senior law enforcement official.
It is probing whether some of the ammunition was picked up and taken to the Crooks' family home or whether it was delivered there.
Rallygoers alerted police to suspicious person
Rallygoers alerted local police to a suspicious person at the event near the security screening area, two senior officials said. Police tried to search for him but could not find him in the crowd. A short time later, he was on the roof, the officials said.
Two municipal officers tried to approach the suspect shortly before he opened fire, two senior officials said.
More than a dozen guns found at Crooks' home, senior officials say
More than a dozen guns were found in a search of the Crooks family home, four senior officials told NBC News.
After Crooks opened fire, his father called police to say he was worried that his son and his AR rifle were missing, three senior officials said. Police went to the home after the call.