Despite 90-degree heat, thousands of people turned out for the Butler Farm Show in Pennsylvania, a 100-acre fairground used for agricultural exhibitions. Former President Donald Trump has visited the site before.
Butler County voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2020, so the crowd was expected to be as friendly as you’ll find anywhere in the country.
But things took a sudden and deadly turn just minutes after the former president and presumptive Republican nominee began speaking.
Here is a timeline of Trump’s assassination attempt Saturday July 13th.
6:03 p.m.: Trump takes the stage; the shooter is spotted by witnesses
Donald Trump took the stage at 6:03 p.m. local time, around the same time a man was spotted on the roof of a building about 160 meters away. The man was carrying an AR-style semi-automatic rifle.
Onlookers alerted police and an armed officer attempted to check the roof.
“We noticed a guy crawling, you know, bear-like, on the roof of the building next to us, 50 feet away from us.” a witness said“So we were there, you know, and we were pointing out the guy crawling on the roof.”
“He had a gun, we could clearly see him with a gun,” the witness added.
The sheriff said a police officer tried to reach the shooter but had to retreat.
“All I know is the officer had both hands up on the roof to get on the roof,” Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe told CBS Pittsburgh station KDKA, but the officer never made it “because the shooter had turned toward the officer.”
“And rightly and intelligently, the officer let go,” Slupe said. After that, the shooter turned his rifle toward the gathering and the crowd and began shooting, Slupe said.
6:11 p.m.: Three shots are fired, then others.
As Trump was talking about immigration, the first three shots were fired. They came from Trump’s right. Then three more shots were fired, followed by what sounded like an exit shot, as the crowd erupted into cheers.
A video recorded by a bystander shows secret service snipers aiming at something in the shooter’s direction. A final shot rings out 15 seconds later.
Secret Service agents surrounded Trump, who was scratched in the earas blood ran down his face. It took a minute and a half to get the former president off the stage.
REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images
As Secret Service agents tried to push him into his waiting SUV, Trump raised his fist several times and appeared to say, “Fight.”
Some people in the crowd turned their attention to three others who had been shot. Among the victims was a 50-year-old man. Corey Companion — a firefighter, father and big fan of Donald Trump. He was killed by a bullet to the head.
“I asked Corey’s wife if I could share with you that we talked,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a news conference the next day. “She said yes. She also asked me to share with all of you that Corey died a hero, that he threw himself into his family’s arms last night at that rally. Corey was the best of us. May his memory be a blessing.”
Two other people, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were seriously injured. CBS News has learned that one of the victims is in a medically induced coma.
Trump was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
8:13 p.m.: President Biden denounces violence
President Biden made a statement in Delaware, where he had spent the weekend.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence,” Biden said. “It’s wrong. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow this to happen. We cannot do this. We cannot condone this.”
Mr Biden then returned to the White House, where he was briefed on the assassination attempt.
8:42 p.m.: Trump announces he was shot in the ear
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I was shot through the top of my right ear. I knew immediately something was wrong, I heard a whistling sound, gunshots, and immediately felt the bullet tear through the skin. There was a lot of bleeding.”
Shortly after, he left the hospital, headed to the airport and flew to New Jersey.
1:20 a.m. Sunday: FBI identifies shooter
Early Sunday morning, the FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew CrooksHe was 20 years old and lived in Bethel, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles from the rally site. He earned an engineering degree from a community college and worked at a nursing and rehabilitation center.
Investigators say his motives are not yet known. He appears to have acted alone and have found no clear indication of his intentions or threats on his social media accounts.
Investigators searched the suspect’s home and car throughout the night and morning. They said they found suspicious devices in his home and vehicle, which were neutralized by bomb disposal experts.
A former classmate at Bethel Park High School told CBS News Crooks tried out for the high school shooting team but failed to make the cut. Jameson Myers described him as “a normal kid” and a “nice kid who never spoke ill of anyone,” adding, “I never thought he was capable of anything I’ve seen him do in the last few days.”
7:36 a.m.: Trump thanks people for their prayers
On Sunday morning, Trump posted a message on Truth Social thanking people for their thoughts and prayers, saying that “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
“We will NOT be FEARFUL, but will remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness,” Trump wrote, saying he was praying for the recovery of those killed and injured in the shooting.
“Right now, it is more important than ever that we stand together and show our true character as Americans, by remaining strong and determined and not allowing evil to win,” Trump wrote.
10:21 a.m.: Melania Trump calls shooter a “monster”
Melania Trump too issued a statement on social networks.
“America, the fabric of our sweet nation is in tatters, but our courage and our common sense must rise up and bring us together again as one,” the former first lady said.
She said that when she saw the “violent bullet” hit her husband, she realised that her life and that of the couple’s son, Barron, were “on the brink of devastating change”.
“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine tried to silence Donald’s passion – his laughter, his ingenuity, his love of music and his inspiration,” Melania wrote.
2:09 p.m.: Trump announces he will go to Milwaukee
Trump confirmed on Truth Social that he is traveling to Wisconsin as planned to attend the Republican National Conventionwhich starts Monday.
“Based on the terrible events of yesterday, I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin and the Republican National Convention by two days, but I have just decided that I cannot allow a ‘shooter’, or potential assassin, to force a change of schedule, or anything else,” Trump wrote.
“Therefore, I will depart for Milwaukee, as scheduled, at 3:30 PM TODAY,” he added.
8:00 p.m.: Biden’s speech in the Oval Office
President Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office Sunday night.
“We cannot allow this violence to become normalized,” Biden said. “The political rhetoric in this country has become very heated. It is time to calm down. We all have a responsibility to do so.”
He added that “politics must never be a literal battlefield, God forbid, a battlefield.”
The president cited a number of violent political acts that have occurred in recent years, including the one on January 6, 2021, storming the capitolA plot foiled to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the attack on the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the intimidation election officials.
“In America, we resolve our differences” at the ballot box, Mr. Biden said, “not with bullets.”
The FBI says it has received more than 2,600 tips so far. Investigators are now working on this reverse timeline, starting with the shooting and all the moments leading up to it, dissecting the serial killer’s life in the days and months leading up to July 13.
Maurice DuBois
