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

WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities want to know how a shooter climb onto a roof so close to where former President Donald Trump spoke and opened 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?

The US secret service is investigating how the gunman, armed with an AR rifle, was able to get onto a nearby roof and shoot and injure the former president at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania.

The shooter, who authorities say was killed by Secret Service agents, fired several shots at the stage from an “elevated position outside the venue,” the agency said. Trump was covered in blood and said he was “struck by a bullet that pierced the top of my right ear.” One spectator 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 a Pittsburgh suburb who tried to shoot Trump was a registered Republican who packed explosives in 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 no underlying ideology has yet been identified or threatening letters or social media posts from Crooks, who has no prior criminal charges, according to public 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, “pounced on 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 the President said on Sunday that while political passions may flare up, “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 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 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 most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981but there was numerous cases of political violence The targets of the assassinations were US presidents, former presidents and presidential candidates of the major parties. Four US presidents were 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.