Trump assassination attempt updates: Biden condemns violence in Oval Office address

A Biden campaign official indicated that the campaign would return to the cycle's activities after his interview with NBC News tomorrow.

The official said that "both the DNC and the campaign will continue drawing the contrast between our positive vision for the future and Trump and Republicans’ backwards-looking agenda over the course of the week."

BUTLER, Pa. — Two women who watched former President Donald Trump’s rally yesterday from a neighboring property described what they called lax safety measures beyond the event’s security perimeter.

Valerie Fennell and Deb Kuminkoski had tickets to go to the rally, but, because of the heat and the large crowd, they decided to hang back and watch from Fennell’s backyard, which backs up to the area where the rally was held.

Fennell’s backyard is in a grassy area between where the Trump crowd gathered and the AGR factory where the shooter was perched on the roof of one of the buildings, about 150 yards away.

The shooter’s bullets soared right over their heads on their way toward Trump and his supporters as they watched the event, they said.

Read the full story here.

First lady Jill Biden spoke with former first lady Melania Trump by phone this afternoon, a White House official said.

Republican National Committeeman David Bossie told Milwaukee's WISN-TV this evening that he expects Trump to receive a "very emotional and overwhelming" welcome tomorrow night and that he believes Trump will announce his vice presidential nominee imminently.

"I don’t get ahead of [Trump,]" Bossie said, adding, "But I think the plan is it’s imminent for certain."

He also confirmed that Trump would be speaking tomorrow, saying he is "going to be seen in Milwaukee tomorrow."

BUTLER, Pa. — Two women who watched former President Donald Trump’s rally yesterday from a neighboring property described what they called lax safety measures beyond the event’s security perimeter.

Valerie Fennell and Deb Kuminkoski had tickets to go to the Butler rally, but, because of the heat and the large crowd, they decided to hang back and watch from Fennell’s backyard, which backs up to the area where the rally was held.

Read the full story here.

At a concert kickoff event for the main protests scheduled to take place against the Republican convention tomorrow, attendees rejected any notion that the attack on Trump should mute their efforts.

Several at the Coalition to March on the RNC event said that they’d always planned to protest various policies pushed by Trump and his allies — and that their focus was no different after the attempted assassination.

“They’ve laid it all out there. The whole thing with Project 2025,” said Zach, a guitarist and singer for the band Pillärs, which is one of several that played at the event.

Omar Flores, the lead organizer of the Coalition to March on the RNC, the leftist group planning a major protest effort at the Republican National Convention, said he expects about 5,000 people at his group’s march tomorrow.

At a protest kickoff concert in Milwaukee tonight, Flores said the group hadn’t made any changes to its protest march tomorrow — despite heightened worries following the assassination attempt on Trump — and had also not been in contact with law enforcement or Milwaukee officials about any added security measures.

Rather, Flores said several members of the group had received both formal and informal training in de-escalation that he said would be useful if counterprotesters show up.

“Counterprotesters are genuinely nothing new — even ones that are carrying arms,” he said. “And we’ve always been able to de-escalate those situations. We have it down to a science at this point.”

“We’re not going in naive. We prepared the best that we can for the worst, but we’re expecting the best,” Flores said.

Paul Kosko, an amateur photographer who took photos at Trump's rally, said he noticed from his photos that a bullet took out part of Trump's ear.

"When the bullet struck, it took out a little piece of the president's right upper ear," Kosko said in an interview, saying he noticed the detail when he zoomed in on his photos.

In what appears to be his first interview since yesterday's shooting, Trump told the Washington Examiner that he will completely rewrite the speech he planned to give Thursday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and said, "This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together."

"The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago," he added.

Despite Trump's decision to change his speech ahead of the convention, several speakers scheduled to address GOP delegates told NBC News that they were asked to change nothing about their planned speeches.

The House Homeland Security Committee will investigate the assassination attempt on Trump, committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said today.

Green said he spoke with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle regarding “pressing questions” about the attack, adding that he also discussed the committee’s “numerous information requests” with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Cheatle pledged to brief committee members this week and to appear before them when the committee is back in session, according to Green, who called the attack “a watershed moment in our history.”

“The American people deserve thorough and prompt answers to what led to the first near-assassination of a commander in chief in more than 40 years,” Green said.

Biden's words from the Oval Office tonight revolved around unity and toning down political rhetoric, which he called for on Nov. 7, 2020, when he addressed supporters shortly after he was projected to be the winner.

"It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again. Listen to each other again," Biden said in 2020.

Speaking to those who voted for him and those who voted for Trump, the then-president elect added, “To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They are Americans. They’re Americans."

The main leftist protest group demonstrating against the Republican National Convention held a kickoff concert at an event space outside the downtown Milwaukee security perimeter, where attendees expressed enthusiasm for their cause and concerns about counterprotest efforts.

Speakers at the Republican National Convention have been given specific advice on how to handle their speeches in the wake of yesterday’s attempted assassination of Trump: Change nothing.

Trump aides and RNC leadership have not told those speaking at the weeklong convention in Milwaukee to alter their original speeches after the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump did not want to show signs of weakness or signal that the shooting affected the long-planned convention, according to seven people who are either set to give RNC speeches or their aides.

Read the full story here.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Biden denounced political violence and implored Americans to "lower the temperature" and remember that "when we disagree we are not enemies. We’re neighbors, friends, co-workers.”

Biden compared the attempted assassination of Trump to the attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, last year and the alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

"The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated,” Biden said, telling viewers that “American democracy is where arguments are made in good faith … where the rule of law is respected.”

“It’s time to cool it down,” he said. “We all have a responsibility to do that.”

The suspected shooter in yesterday's attempted assassination of Trump was a member of an area gun club, the organization said in a statement.

The Clairton Sportsmen's Club confirmed the membership of Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, but said it could not provide more information amid the FBI probe into the roots of the attack.

"Obviously, the Club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence that occurred yesterday," it said. "The Club also offers its sincerest condolences to the Comperatore family and extends prayers to all of those injured including the former President."

Within an hour after the first shots were fired in the attempted assassination of Trump, Biden had been briefed on what had unfolded, he was preparing a written statement condemning it and planning an address the nation, and he had tried to call his rival in the election.

Biden’s swift response yesterday to fast-moving developments is uncharacteristic for a White House that tends to react more slowly to crises than even some of its allies would like. The pace was designed to leave no question about how seriously Biden was taking the attempt to assassinate his political opponent and to set the tone for how he wants to be seen by the country as he navigates one of the most horrific moments in American history.

Read the full story here.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and RNC Chair Michael Whatley had a "brief call" yesterday, according to a DNC spokesperson.

Harrison offered "his thoughts and condolences" and highlighted "the Democratic Party’s continued opposition to any and all forms of political violence," the spokesperson said.

An RNC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A campaign official said that in tonight’s address, Biden will call to end political violence for good.

The official argued that Biden has stood against political violence his entire career by starting in politics after the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. — and then coming back to run for president after the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“He has been clear that we don’t settle our differences through violence,” the official said. “We settle them at the ballot box.”

A former senior Secret Service source familiar with the Trump rally site’s protocols and planning told NBC News that the roof where the shooter was located was a well-known, high-priority vulnerability for the agency, known from previous Secret Service protection at rallies at the site and identified the day before during a walkthrough.

The source also said that two counter-sniper teams were on site and that they did not need approval to shoot.

The source called the assassination attempt a security “failure.”

“I mean, I think anybody with a little common sense, with no prior experience, just looking to the right of the stage, [would know] that is a very, very vulnerable spot to have a building for one thing, with a roof,” the source said. “You have multiple teams, you know, the CAT [counter assault team], the CS [counter sniper] team, the CAT team, the actual site, advance team, supervisor. I mean, they should have all called that out.”

Trump landed in Milwaukee shortly before 6 p.m. local time, about 24 hours after the attempted assassination in Pennsylvania.

Trump had departed from Newark Airport after he left his residence in Bedminster, New Jersey.

The former employer of the Trump rally shooter said in a statement today that it was "shocked" after it learned of his role in the assassination attempt.

Thomas Matthew Crooks had been employed as a dietary aide at the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Facility administrator Marcie Grimm said the center was "shocked" and "saddened" to learn of his involvement in the assassination attempt, saying that he had performed his job "without concern" and that his background check was clean. The center said it was cooperating fully with law enforcement officials.

As an NBC News reporter covering Trump, I’ve attended more than a dozen of his campaign rallies this election cycle alone. They usually feel more like concerts or festivals than political events, with food trucks and vendors, where supporters and their families gather to enjoy the day.

That’s how yesterday’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, started too. But, as we all know, that’s not how it ended.

A few minutes into Trump’s speech, my producer, Bianca Seward, and I heard what we thought were fireworks. But when those pop-pop-pops kept going and the former president stopped talking, we instinctively ducked down behind some stage equipment. In my mind, I thought, “This is silly, I’m overreacting.” But my body was shaking.

Read the full story here.

Biden's prime-time remarks from the Oval Office will be a "forceful and needed address" to update the country on the "horrifying attack" on Trump and the need to put an end to political violence, a Biden campaign official said.

The official said Biden will expand on coming together and denouncing such violence during tomorrow's interview with NBC News' Lester Holt, as well.

After that interview, the official said, both the Democratic National Committee and the campaign will drive home those points in addition to drawing a contrast between Democrats' "positive vision for the future and Trump and Republicans’ backwards-looking agenda."

Trump said he had a "good conversation" with Biden in their phone call after yesterday's shooting, according to Fox News host Bret Baier, who said he spoke with the former president by phone this afternoon.

Baier also said Trump is considering making “unity” a theme at the Republican National Convention this week, among other potential changes.

Recounting his description of yesterday's shooting, Baier said Trump had just turned his head to look at a large graphic on a screen when he felt the “biggest mosquito of his lifetime, or a bumblebee that sort of feels like in his ear, and he realizes — he looks at his hand and it’s blood — and he goes down.”

Secret Service and local law enforcement representatives reiterated their confidence in the security apparatus already in place for this week’s Republican National Convention, saying there are no plans to change their security footprint after yesterday’s attempted assassination of Trump. 

“We’re not anticipating any changes to our operational security plans for this event,” said the Secret Service's RNC coordinator, Audrey Gibson-Cicchino. She declined to answer several questions about yesterday’s events in Pennsylvania, citing her RNC-specific jurisdiction.

Gibson-Cicchino emphasized that the security planning here has been underway for 18 months and has already been designated the highest level of security event. 

Amanda Neatrour is a Democrat who believes the future of our political discourse depends on the actions of our leaders and how they react to this moment in history. 

“I hope that this is not used for propaganda to support violence one way or the other,” said Neatrour, 43.

“This hangs on how our leaders decide to treat this moment,” she added. 

The re-election campaign for Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is working with TV stations to temporarily stop advertising following yesterday's assassination attempt against Trump, his confirmed to NBC News today.

Casey’s opponent in the hotly contested race, Republican Dave McCormick, was sitting in the front row at Trump’s rally when the shooting occurred. He told NBC News that one of the victims who was seriously injured was behind him.

"I think it’s a moment that I hope we all step back," McCormick said last night. "Political violence has no place in our country. It’s not a party thing, it’s ... absolutely un-American. And you know, hopefully a night like tonight will give us all pause and help dial down the temperature."

The number of online threats of violence, which was already on the upswing, has risen since the assassination attempt, a top FBI official said this afternoon.

Deputy Director Paul Abbate said at a news briefing that while the FBI is "very urgently" looking into and mounting the investigation into the shooting yesterday, it is also looking into future threats, "particularly with the online elements."

Abbate also said that after the assassination attempt, the FBI has seen people online trying to mimic, or posing as, the deceased shooter.

In the hours after a would-be assassin fired a bullet through Trump’s ear, Panfilo DiCenzo, a 40-year-old Democratic voter from Pittsburgh, drew a simple conclusion about the political effect of the attack: “It definitely is good for Trump.”

DiCenzo reasoned that undecided voters may “be more likely to vote for him out of sympathy” and that “especially with the upheaval in the Democratic Party, you know, more and more people, I think, are a little bit confused as to who to vote for.”

At a time when Biden has been struggling to shore up support with fellow Democrats following a miserable June debate performance and shaky cleanup effort, some professional Democratic political operatives said the shooting will end up sealing Biden’s electoral fate.

Read the full story here.

Renee White and Tim Wadzita were sitting "dead center" right behind Trump on the seventh riser at his rally yesterday when shots rang out.

Wadzita said he was still in "shock of how surreal the moment was" because earlier people had been having a "blast," just "being present" and "understanding" with each other.

White said they were in a "tight shot" just behind Trump. She said she was looking at the jumbotron when she heard the first shot. She followed the sound "right to Trump," then heard the next two shots and watched him go down to the ground as Secret Service agents piled on top of him.

Vice President Kamala Harris this afternoon echoed Biden’s remarks about yesterday's shooting by calling for unity.

“Assassination attempts have no place in our nation, or anywhere,” Harris posted on social media. “Doug and I pray for the family of the victim who was senselessly killed yesterday and hope for a speedy recovery for those injured.”

Harris said yesterday that she was "relieved" that Trump was not seriously injured.

NBC News campaign embed Jake Traylor was covering the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, yesterday when a shooter attempted to assassinate Trump.

Traylor was at the press pen with other journalists, who were anticipating that Trump might announce his vice presidential running mate pick.

“Most of the journalists and reporters in the press pin were at the very front anticipating some type of announcement,” Traylor told NBC News' Andrea Mitchell. “We were just there waiting, of course. Then we heard the shots.”

"The Daily Show" announced today that it has canceled its “Indecision 2024” election coverage in Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention is set to kick off this week. The show will not air tomorrow. Instead, it will continue its coverage Tuesday through Thursday from New York.

“Our apologies for the inconvenience, but due to logistical issues and the evolving situation in Milwaukee, we need to reschedule our events on the ground in Wisconsin and will look to make those up in the coming weeks,” the show posted on X.

The statement came shortly after Trump announced that he would go ahead with his scheduled trip to Wisconsin today, saying he “cannot allow a ‘shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling.”

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on X that he spoke with Trump following the shooting and that the former president “is doing well.”

A co-anchor of CNBC's “Squawk Box,” Joe Kernen, said in a post on X that he spoke to Trump, who is "doing great."

Kernen said Trump "is gratified by all the encouragement and support, from both sides of the aisle."

"He was in amazing spirits, added he has a little problem with his right ear but was glad he turned his head at the last minute," the post continued. "Was also gratified by the courage of the crowd and all those around him."

Kernen said Trump relayed that he believed it was "essential to get out the message at that moment to continue to fight, to make America great."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., blamed Democrats, without evidence, for the attempted assassination of Trump during his rally yesterday.

“We are in a battle between GOOD and EVIL,” she wrote in a post to X. “The Democrats are the party of pedophiles, murdering the innocent unborn, violence, and bloody, meaningless, endless wars.”

Greene, a far-right lawmaker and staunch Trump ally, also called Democrats “flat out evil.”

NBC News has reached out to Greene’s office for comment.

The FBI has not yet identified an underlying ideology for the shooter, but the investigation is in its early stages, FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek told reporters this afternoon.

The shooting is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism, he said. the FBI believes that the suspect, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, acted alone and that there are no public safety concerns at this time.

Rojek said there are no indications of mental health issues at the moment and also also no indications that Crooks had any prior interactions with law enforcement before Saturday.

The bureau believes that the gun used in the assassination attempt was purchased by Crooks’ father and the family appears to be cooperating with the investigation, the FBI said.

The FBI is still working to get access to Crooks’ phone, which is being shipped to a lab, according to the bureau.

The bureau has received over 2,600 tips already.

The two rally attendees who were injured in the shooting are in stable condition, according to the Pennsylvania State Police.

Police identified them as 57-year-old David Dutch from New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and 74-year-old James Copenhaver from Moon Township, Pennsylvania.

Tina Moore came to the Trump rally in Pennsylvania in part because of her mother.

“My mom loves Trump beyond belief, and she said, ‘If it ever comes near, I want to go,’” Moore, who lives in New Bethlehem, said yesterday. “And I said, ‘Mom, he’s near.’”

They had no idea that the political rally in Butler would end in gunfire and what is being investigated as an assassination attempt targeting the former president.

“We were watching the president’s speech, and we heard pop-pop-pop-pop,” she said. “And we didn’t know if it was fireworks or a gun — and it sounded like a gun.”

“And so we all were like, ‘Get down, get down.’ And so everybody hit the ground,” Moore said. They didn’t know if there was one shooter or more than one, she said.

Moore and her mother were sitting to the right of the grandstand, where one person appeared to have been shot, she said.

“I think it’s very unsettling to know that we came here just to rally, just to support our president, just to support the Republican candidate,” Moore said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who challenged Trump in the GOP presidential primary, blamed Trump's shooting on "DC bureaucratic failure" and criticized Biden's remarks announcing an investigation into the security protocols at the rally.

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

“Scared for our country, and sad that this has happened,” said Rachel Wenrich, 46, when asked how she's feeling today after the shooting yesterday.

Wenrich, a Trump supporter, said she had planned to attend the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday but decided against it at the last minute due to the 90-degree temperature.

A campaign staffer for Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., is no longer employed in his office after expressing disappointment on social media that the shooter missed.

“I was made aware of a post made by a staff member and she is no longer in my employment,” Thompson said.

The post, which has since been deleted but has spread on X, said, “I don’t condone violence but get you some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time.”

Thompson is the lead Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee and he chaired the special House committee that investigated Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump said that he had planned to delay his trip to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, but changed his mind and will go there as initially planned.

“I cannot allow a ‘shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site.

He said he would be heading to the convention at 3:30 p.m.

After urging the public against making assumptions about the alleged Trump rally shooter’s motivations, Biden outlined his administration’s plans as the investigation into the incident continues:

• The Secret Service will continue to provide Trump with “every resource capability and protective measure necessary” to ensure his continued safety
• Biden directed the head of the Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention that is scheduled to begin tomorrow
• Biden directed an independent review of national security at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania yesterday to assess the events that unfolded and to share the results of that review with the public
• Biden said he plans to speak more about the assassination attempt on Trump “at a greater lens” from the Oval Office tonight

President Joe Biden will give an address to the nation from the Oval Office at 8 p.m., the White House said.

Biden has given two public addresses since yesterday's shooting, including this afternoon.

In remarks to reporters, Biden said he had a “short but good conversation” with Trump after he was shot at his rally last night and extended his condolences to the family of the man who was killed.

The president again condemned the violence that broke out during the rally last night.

“An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation — everything,” he said. “It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen. Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that right now.”

Nikki Haley has accepted an invitation to the Republican National Convention and plans to attend, her spokesperson Chaney Adams confirmed.

NBC News first reported yesterday that the former South Carolina governor, and Trump’s former 2024 primary rival, had been invited to speak at the RNC.

The president has begun delivering remarks from the Roosevelt Room at the White House.

He is flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Law enforcement officials found a number of suspicious canisters or containers in the suspect's vehicle, but it is unclear if they were functional as incendiary or explosive devices, two officials told NBC News. 

The family is cooperating with investigators, a senior law enforcement official directly briefed on the matter said.

So far, federal investigators have found nothing to show motive. The nature of the shooting suggests political ideology as motive but there's nothing definitive, the official says.

The preliminary count is that eight shots were fired by the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, but that could change as the FBI, ATF and other agencies comb over the rally site and rooftop, according to the official. Crooks was killed after opening fire.

NBC News anchor Lester Holt will interview Biden on Monday.

The full interview will air in its entirety during a prime-time special that evening at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on NBC. The special will also stream at 9 p.m. ET on NBC News NOW.

Portions of the interview will air earlier in the day on “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT and coverage will be available on NBCNews.com. The full interview and unedited transcript will also be available following the prime-time special on NBCNews.com. 

Two Pennsylvania residents at yesterday's Trump rally remain in critical condition as of 1:42 p.m. local time. They are receiving treatment at the Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, according to Bill Toland, director of public relations at the Allegheny Health Network.

A woman named Erin Autenreith told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that she was seated in the first row, directly in front of Trump during the rally.

Autenreith said she saw the blood on Trump’s cheek. However, she realized Trump was OK after he stood up and she saw his face.

Autenreith said she was in school in the second grade when President John F. Kennedy was shot in 1963. She recalls that she and her classmates got to their knees to pray for Kennedy.

“I thought to myself, I’m in the same category as those people in Dallas,” Autenreith said after witnessing the assassination attempt on Trump at the rally yesterday, adding that she and fellow rallygoers were “in shock.”

Biden will no longer travel to Texas for a Monday visit after Saturday’s shooting at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania that targeted the former president.

Biden had previously planned to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act during a visit to the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, the White House said last week.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” this morning that “we probably need to do some soul-searching as a nation” after the assassination attempt against Trump.

“I was just grateful that he made it,” said Graham, who added he had had plans to golf with Trump this morning. “I mean, fate stepped in, the hand of God, call it whatever you like.”

“I wish I could say I was surprised, but I’ve been worried about this for a very, very long time. You know, if he wins, democracy is not going to end, he’s not a fascist. He represents a point of view that millions share,” Graham said. “The rhetoric is way too hot.”

No motive in the shooting at Saturday’s political rally in Pennsylvania has been released.

Read the full story here

Wisconsin GOP Chair Brian Schimming said he does not expect any major changes to the schedule of the Republican National Convention that is set to begin Monday in Milwaukee.

Schimming said he has been in touch with the Trump campaign, which has told him the former president is doing well despite going through a lot in the last 24 hours, and that he has not received any suggestion of major changes to Trump’s level of participation during the convention.

A GoFundMe page authorized by Trump has raised $1 million in the 15 hours since it was established, according to a Trump campaign source.

The page was organized by the campaign's national finance director, Meredith O'Rourke.

"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," the description on the GoFundMe reads. "All donations will be directed to these proud Americans as they grieve and recover."

A spokesperson for the messaging app Discord told NBC News that the shooting suspect maintained an account on the site, but the company doesn't believe it was connected to the shooting.

"We have identified an account that appears to be linked to the suspect; it was rarely utilized and we have found no evidence that it was used to plan this incident, promote violence, or discuss his political views," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added: "Discord strongly condemns violence of any kind, including political violence, and we will continue to coordinate closely with law enforcement.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland has cleared his schedule for the week to focus on the investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice announced.

Garland was scheduled to be in Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Kansas this week to meet with local law enforcement and to speak at the National Bar Association, according to DOJ director of public affairs Xochitl Hinojosa.

However, Garland will now stay in Washington, D.C., to “closely monitor the investigation,” the DOJ said.

The man who was killed at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania yesterday was identified as 50-year-old Corey Comperatore.

Comperatore's daughter, Allyson, and his sister, Dawn Comperatore Schafer, confirmed to NBC News that he died. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, also confirmed Coperatore's name during a press conference Sunday.

Corey Lewandowski, a longtime Trump ally and RNC convention adviser, told NBC News that the convention has had "nothing but problems" with the Secret Service as the committee attempted to move free-speech zones outside the convention farther away.

"They refused to do that," Lewandowski said. "The answer was no. We appealed on multiple occasions.”

GOP officials — citing safety concerns — previously said the plans would force delegates and conventiongoers to come in close contact with protesters on their way to the venue.

Though he commended individual Secret Service agents, Lewandowski said the fact that the shooter managed to reach an elevated position and hit Trump is evidence of a serious lapse.

Asked if the Biden administration bears responsibility, he said: “The buck always stops at the top.”

“You have somebody who is a protectee of the United States Secret Service was shot yesterday. By every account that was a failure,” he added.

Jeff Fleming, a spokesperson for Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, says yesterday’s attack has not changed the existing plans not to implement a broader curfew this week.

There is already a curfew in place in Milwaukee for anyone under 18 at 11 p.m. But there are no plans to broaden that, Fleming said.

Pennsylvania resident Corey Comperatore, who was fatally shot yesterday at Trump’s rally, dove onto his family to protect them when bullets started flying, Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a press conference in Butler Township.

Calling Comperatore a “hero,” Shapiro said he has directed flags to be flown at half-staff in his memory. Two additional victims of the shooting are still in critical condition, he said.

“Disagreements are OK, but we need to use a peaceful political process to settle those differences,” Shapiro said. “This is a moment where all leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity, where all leaders need to take down the temperature and rise above the hateful rhetoric that exists and search for a better, brighter future for this nation.”

He said he has not spoken directly with Trump, but that President Joe Biden had called him last night.

Shapiro declined to answer questions regarding the ongoing investigation into the assassination attempt, saying law enforcement will provide further updates.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., called for a hearing in the Senate Homeland Security Committee to investigate what happened "so there can be accountability & we can ensure this never happens again."

Rosen is a member of the panel, which has not yet scheduled a hearing. She joins calls from GOP Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who also sit on the committee, for a hearing.

NBC News has reached out to Senate Homeland Security Chair Gary Peters, D-Mich., for comment.

Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks at the White House at 1:30 p.m.

The president has condemned the shooting at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania last night, decrying the attempted assassination of the former president as “sick” and saying there was “no place in America for this kind of violence.”

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris received a briefing in the White House Situation Room alongside Biden’s top advisers.

Some of those who briefed the president included Attorney General Merrick Garland, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Top leaders in Congress quickly unified to rebuke a failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a Saturday rally, demanding briefings and planning investigations into the incident that left the former president injured.

“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,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday on the “TODAY” show. “But in the meantime, we’ve got to turn the rhetoric down. We’ve got to turn the temperature down in this country.”

Johnson said he has “gotten briefings from law enforcement” and asked “pointed questions” of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Saturday night.

Read the full story here.

Dan Grzybek, a Democrat who serves on the Allegheny County council and lives down the street from the shooter’s home in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, described the shock that local residents are experiencing after a neighbor attempted to assassinate the former president.

“No one ever expects that something like this would be done by someone who lives right in their neighborhood,” Grzybek told NBC News.

Grzybek said when he was running for his county council seat last fall, he met Crooks’ parents while going door-knocking in the neighborhood. Speaking at the family’s front door, Grzybek said he had a “very pleasant conversation” with Crooks’ parents. Grzybek said he had not previously met the shooter.

It was a “very typical voter conversation,” Grzybek said. “Most people, the first thing they’re asking is not your party registration. It’s more so, ‘OK, what do you want to do on county council? So we were talking about things like local air quality and how we’re handling incarceration. Those were the conversations that we were steered towards. And I think that the partisanship of politics tended to stay out of the conversation.”

A high school classmate of the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, said Crooks was “bullied so much in high school.”

The former classmate, Jason Kohler, 21, said Crooks would regularly wear hunting outfits and was made fun of for the way he dressed.

Crooks was a “loner” who would sit alone at lunch, according to the classmate.

Crooks graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School in Pennsylvania.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ scheduled trip to Palm Beach County, Fla., on Tuesday has been postponed in light of the “horrific shooting” at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania last night, a Biden-Harris campaign official told NBC News.

Harris is in Washington, D.C., and joining Biden in the Situation Room for briefings, according to an aide to the vice president.

Six presidents have faced assassination attempts while they were in office or on the campaign trail. NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss reflects on past attempts and how Americans came together in response.

Omar Flores, lead organizer of the Coalition to March on the RNC, the leftist group planning a major protest effort at the Republican National Convention, said plans for a march and rally tomorrow are set to move forward.

He declined to specify any changes the coalition will make, like whether the group has received an increase in threats since Trump's shooting.

"From the very beginning of our Coalition, we have been clear about two things: we stand in opposition to the racist and reactionary Republican agenda, and we are a broad coalition that is planning a family-friendly march," the coalition said in a press release last night. "Our points of unity are in opposition to the entire Republican agenda, not solely one candidate or politician."

The coalition has teams of "experienced marshals and medics" to keep protesters safe, it stated. The group added that it is confident in its security plan and expects to uphold its agreement with Milwaukee officials to march near the Fiserv Forum without intervention from law enforcement.

Corey Lewandowski, an adviser to the Republican nominating convention in Milwaukee, said that the failed assassination attempt will produce an outpouring of affection for Trump that will electrify the convention this week.

“This convention is going to be bigger than ever,” said Lewandowski, a longtime Trump ally and former campaign official. “The convention-goers here in Milwaukee are extremely grateful for the luck that President Trump has. When he [Trump] walks in that arena for the first time, the decibel level will be so high it will be almost unmeasurable.”

Lewandowski said that the photo of a blood-smeared Trump standing with his fist raised, against the backdrop of the American flag, will stand as one of the “iconic” pictures in American political history.

“Look, the guy is a f----- animal. The guy is an absolute animal," he said of Trump. "He gets shot, stands up, he does three fist pumps and says, ‘Fight, fight, fight.’”

Two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation say investigators are looking into whether the gun Thomas Matthew Crooks used in the shooting belonged to his father and had been purchased legally.

Five senior law enforcement officials have confirmed this is a photo of the alleged shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Little more is known about him as of late morning on Sunday, a surprising development considering the scale of interest in this situation.

No major social media accounts have been found so far, despite plenty of efforts from journalists and internet sleuths. What little has been found that appears to be connected to him — video from a high school graduation, some high school yearbook pictures — offer no clues about a motive. A Pennsylvania voter registration that matches information from authorities about the shooter shows he was a registered Republican, though that offers few answers as well.

More information could come out in the near future, but initial efforts to learn more have come up empty.

Charles Benson, chief political reporter at Milwaukee's WTMJ, joined NBC News' "Meet the Press" this morning and previewed expected changes at the upcoming Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.

"I'm hoping it doesn't change all that dramatically," Benson told moderator Kristen Welker, reflecting on the unique opportunity conventions give voters to interact with elected officials.

Still, Benson admitted, "the security will" likely change dramatically after the assassination attempt on Trump.

In her first statement since the assassination attempt on her husband, former first lady Melania Trump called for unity as she recalled the moments following the attempt on the former president's life.

"When I watched that bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron's life, were on the brink of devastating change," Melania said.

She said that the shooter saw the former president as "an inhuman political machine."

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, on Sunday told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that “harsh rhetoric” doesn’t have a place in politics.

“What we need as a nation, what a democracy is about, is not radical rhetoric,” Sanders told moderator Kristen Welker, adding: “What it is about is a serious discussion of where we are as a nation and how we go forward. You know, in a certain way, Kristen, politics should be kind of boring.”

Sanders added that he hopes to see a “serious discussion of serious issues, and not this kind of harsh rhetoric that we have heard for the last number of years.”

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., spoke to “Meet the Press” shortly after Sanders and told Welker that members on both sides of the aisle were seeking community in the aftermath of the shooting.

“All of us are reaching out to each other in Congress,” Coons said.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said he was “stunned” by the assassination attempt on Trump last night.

“It’s shocking and it’s a dark day for our nation,” Fetterman said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that he was attending the funeral of a slain transgender teenager last night near the Trump rally shooting.

“I immediately was like, ‘I’m just so glad that Donald Trump is going to be OK,’” he added. “And my heart goes out to people that have lost their lives and all of that.”

Fetterman said he has not heard any specific information from federal or state law enforcement and called on the public to “turn down any kind of temperature” in the months heading into the November election.

Three senior U.S. law enforcement officials say the person who fired at Trump yesterday in Pennsylvania used a semiautomatic rifle, based on what was found at the scene.

Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Meuser on Sunday described what he saw during Saturday’s rally where former President Donald Trump was shot, saying, “I really was thinking the worst. And so you get a surge of anger or frustration of wanting to do something.”

Meuser, who spoke at the rally several minutes before Trump, was standing near the front of the crowd alongside Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate David McCormick.

“We were trying to even get over the barrier” after the shots rang out, Meuser told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding, “and then, of course, the Secret Service was on it immediately.”

"That was a nightmare what I just lived through," Donna Hutz, an eyewitness to the assassination attempt on Trump, said on Sunday morning.

Hutz said she was seated in the section of the bleachers behind Trump where two spectators, a man and a woman, were shot. Speaking on a special edition of NBC News’ “TODAY” show this morning, Hutz said she heard three shots, in what sounded to her like "a cap gun."

In the following seconds, Hutz said, "everything was going on. My son says, 'Get down, it's a gun.' People were getting down as we were getting down."

Senior advisers for the Trump campaign, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wile, have urged staff not to come into either the D.C. or West Palm Beach office on Sunday as they ensure the security of both locations.

“We are enhancing the armed security presence with 24/7 officers on-site,” they wrote in a letter. “Additional security assessments will be in place. Our highest priority is to keep all of you on this staff safe.”

They confirmed that the Republican National Committee convention that begins in Milwaukee tomorrow will continue as planned.

Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday told NBC News that former President Donald Trump’s shooting on Saturday is evidence that Americans need to “turn the rhetoric down.”

“We’re all Americans, and we have to treat one another with dignity and respect,” Johnson said while casting some blame on President Joe Biden, who told supporters on a campaign call last week that it was time to refocus the presidential race away from his age and back onto Trump.

Read the full story here.

Two patients who attended Trump's rally remain in critical condition after they were admitted to the hospital last night.

Dan Laurent, vice president of corporate communications at Allegheny Health Network, confirmed that both were being treated at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

David Brown, a 51-year-old Trump supporter from Pittsburgh, reacted to the attempted assassination by asking Americans to tone down the rhetoric. 

“We’re demonizing each other too much,” said Brown, who works for a telecom company in Pittsburgh. Brown says Trump is “not as bad as he’s been made out of to be,” and his supporters are also misunderstood. 

“We’re not as bad as we’ve been vilified to be,” said Brown of Trump supporters like himself. “A lot of us are just hardworking Americans that would just want to see a decent country again,” he added. 

Brown said the emotions he’s feeling are “shock, anger, horrified,” but Americans thrive under adversity. “I think when tragedy does happen, though, it’s when Americans do reveal their better qualities,” said Brown. 

An eyewitness who was only feet away from the lectern when a bullet damaged Donald Trump’s ear said she had no idea the former president was injured at first and that there was a shooter when he was pushed down to the ground.

Erin Autenreith told a special edition of NBC's “TODAY” show this morning that she heard what she thought was fireworks, before she saw Secret Service agents pushing the former president to the ground.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent, has called for unity after the shooting and offered his prayers to Donald Trump. 

His father, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated while campaigning for the presidency in 1968. 

“Now is the time for every American who loves our country to step back from the division, renounce all violence, and unite in prayer for President Trump and his family,” he posted on X.

An aide to Biden responded to accusations from Trump allies that Biden’s rhetoric was responsible for the assassination attempt on the former president.

The aide pointed to “the continual comments the president has made condemning political violence and saying it can never happen, before and during the presidency.”

On Saturday following the attack, Biden said there was “no place in America for this kind of violence,” adding “It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country.”

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi has dismissed claims that additional security at the Trump rally was requested and rejected.

"There's an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed," he posted on X.

"This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo."

Trump posted on his social media website Truth Social early this morning, again thanking supporters.

"We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness," Trump wrote online. "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."

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the "atmosphere" around candidate Trump provoked the attack in a statement on Sunday.

"After numerous attempts to eliminate candidate Trump from the political arena, first using legal tools (courts, prosecutors, attempts of political discreditation), it was obvious to all outside observers that his life was in danger," he said, before condemning the attack and wishing a speedy recovery to all those injured.

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova took a swipe at U.S. support for Ukraine by suggesting the attack would not have happened if President Joe Biden spent more money on internal security, rather than creating a "terrorist structure" in Ukraine.

“Maybe it would be better to use this money to finance the US police and other services which are supposed to administer law in the United States?”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said political violence has “no place in our societies” on Saturday evening, shortly after the attack.

“I am appalled by the shocking scenes at President Trump’s rally and we send him and his family our best wishes,” he posted on X.

“Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”

Republican members of Congress are blaming President Joe Biden, Democrats, and the media for yesterday's assassination attempt, claiming the shooting was a result of incendiary rhetoric against Trump and efforts to imprison him.

The posts were highlighted in a summary from Advance Democracy, an NGO that monitors far-right extremism.

Sen. JD Vance, among the potential picks for Trump's running mate in the 2024 election, said: “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that … Trump is an authoritarian fascist." He said this rhetoric "led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”

Republican Rep. Mike Collins posted that “Joe Biden sent the orders."

A motive for the shooting has not been identified.

China’s President Xi Jinping expressed his “compassion and sympathy” to Donald Trump on Sunday, a spokesman said.

“China is following the shooting incident at the campaign rally of former U.S. President Donald Trump. President Xi Jinping has expressed sympathies to former President Trump,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.

How does a gunman, in plain view of some spectators, manage to open fire on a former president at a campaign rally protected by federal and local law enforcement?

That is the frightening and unanswered question facing the country — and security officials — after Donald Trump said he suffered a graze wound on his right ear while he was speaking in a field in Butler, Pennsylvania, and left the stage with a bloodied head.

Read the full story here.

French President Emmanuel Macron called the assassination attempt a “tragedy for our democracies” on Sunday, as he wished Donald Trump a “speedy recovery.”

“My thoughts are with President Donald Trump, the victim of an assassination attempt,” he posted on X.

“I send him my wishes for a speedy recovery. A spectator has died, several are injured. It is a tragedy for our democracies. France shares the shock and indignation of the American people.”

Photos of the body of a possible shooter on a roof near the Trump rally appear to show the person wearing merchandise promoting one of YouTube’s most popular channels devoted to firearms.

The photos, verified by NBC News, show a person lying on a roof bleeding from the head, surrounded by law enforcement officers. The bleeding person is wearing a gray T-shirt with an American flag on the sleeve with block lettering that is partly obscured.

The appearance and lettering of the shirt match the appearance of a shirt that is still for sale on the website for the firearms YouTube channel Demolition Ranch.

After the photos and speculation began to circulate online Saturday evening, Demolition Ranch and its founder posted to social media, sharing the photos and writing, “What the hell.”

New video shows Trump walking down the steps of his plane unassisted after landing.

Holding the rail with his right hand, Trump gave a gentle wave with his left as he made his way to the tarmac.

• Trump target of assassination attempt; says he was shot in ear at rally
• ‘A fundamental security failure’: How did a gunman open fire on a Trump rally?
• Trump rally shooter identified as 20-year-old Pennsylvania man
• Witness at Trump rally describes seeing the person who died being shot in head
• Frenzied Democratic effort to replace Biden comes to a standstill after Trump rally shooting