What you should know about Trump’s assassination attempt and the shooting investigation

WASHINGTON – Authorities are trying to determine how a gunman was able to get onto a rooftop so close to where former President Donald Trump was delivering his speech and open fire.

This is one of the focuses of the investigation into Saturday’s assassination attempt on Trump, as Republicans gather in Milwaukee for their convention and President Joe Biden urges Americans to reject political violence.

Here’s a look at what we know so far:

How could a shooter get so close to Trump?

U.S. intelligence officials are investigating how the gunman, armed with an AR-style rifle, managed to get onto a nearby rooftop and shoot and wound the former president at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The gunman, who Secret Service officials said was killed, fired several shots at the stage from an “elevated position outside the venue,” the agency said. Trump was bloodied and said he was “struck by a bullet that pierced the top of my right ear.” One audience member was killed.

An Associated Press analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos from Trump’s rally, as well as satellite images of the site, shows that the shooter managed to get surprisingly close to the stage where the former president was speaking.

The roof was less than 150 meters from where Trump was speaking. Biden has ordered an independent review of security at the rally.

What is known about the shooter at the Trump rally?

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old nursing home worker from suburban Pittsburgh who tried to shoot Trump, was a registered Republican who loaded explosives into the car he drove to the campaign rally an hour from his home.

Authorities spoke of attempted murder, but have not yet determined what motivated Crooks to want to kill Trump.

On Sunday, police officers tried to find out more about the young man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to determine his motive.

The FBI has not yet identified any underlying ideology or threatening letters or social media posts from Crooks, who has no prior criminal charges, according to publicly available court records. The FBI believes Crooks acted alone and the shooting is being investigated as a possible act of domestic terrorism.

What do we know about the other victims?

Governor Josh Shapiro said Sunday that the man killed at the Trump rally, Corey Comperatore, “rushed toward his family to protect them.”

“Corey died a hero,” the governor said. Comperatore, 50, was a former fire chief.

Pennsylvania State Police identified two other men who were shot: David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township. Both men remained hospitalized and were in stable condition, state police said.

Biden condemns violence in address to the nation

In a national prime-time address on Sunday, the president said that while political passions may run high, “we must never descend into violence.”

“We can do this,” Biden pleaded, saying the nation was founded on a democracy that gives reason and balance a chance to prevail over brute force.

“American democracy – where arguments are made in good faith. American democracy where the rule of law is respected. Where decency, dignity and fair play are not just fancy concepts, but living reality.”

Trump arrives in Milwaukee as RNC continues

The former president is in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention.

Trump’s plane landed on Sunday. The four-day event begins on Monday with thousands of Republicans gathering to officially elect him as their 2024 presidential candidate.

His coworkers said he was in “good spirits” and doing well.

The attack on Trump on Saturday has increased the focus on the security of the event.

Trump said he wanted to postpone his trip by two days because of the assassination attempt, “but have just decided that I cannot allow a ‘shooter’ or potential assassin to force changes to the schedule or anything else.”

Have there been further assassination attempts on the president?

Saturday’s attack was the deadliest assassination attempt on a president or presidential candidate since the assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981. However, there have been numerous cases of political violence against US presidents, former presidents and presidential candidates of the major parties. Four US presidents have been assassinated – Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John Kennedy.

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Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.