Timeline of Trump rally shooting and assassination attempt
An alleged lone gunman opened fire at a rally for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. The shooting is being investigated as an assassination attempt.
BUTLER TOWNSHIP, Pa. − Multicolored flowers donated by well-wishers dotted the front of the Buffalo Township volunteer fire station Thursday morning. Amid the flowers there’s a kneeling statue of a firefighter wielding an American flag, and behind the statue is Corey Comperatore’s firefighting gear.
Atop his work boots is a black Trump 2024 baseball cap that reads “Never Surrender.”The display honors Comperatore, who died shielding his family from gunfire at a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump on Saturday. A stream of visitors have donated flowers and other goods to the station.
Friends and family of Comperatore gathered Thursday at Laube Hall in Freeport, Pennsylvania, a small town on the Allegheny River, to pay their respects. So did members of regional fire departments and their emergency medical services counterparts. The visitation was held under heightened security. Freeport police and Pennsylvania state law enforcement were present, including at least two snipers positioned atop a nearby building and on Laube Hall.
Funeral services for Comperatore will be held Friday at his longtime Butler County church.
Trump was speaking before throngs of supporters at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Pennsylvania when a gunman opened fire from the roof of a nearby building. Trump, his face bloodied, was hustled off the stage by Secret Service personnel. Comperatore, 50, was killed and two other rallygoers were critically wounded before a sniper fatally shot the gunman.
Anatomy of a tragedy: Graphics, maps show how the attack played out
A review of gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks’ phone by the Federal Bureau of Investigation found he had searched for images of both President Joe Biden and Trump, as well as other famous figures, in the days before the shooting, the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing U.S. lawmakers briefed on the law enforcement investigation. Other search subjects included the FBI director, Christopher Wray; Attorney General Merrick Garland; and a member of the British royal family, according to two officials who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter publicly.
Fox News said investigators reviewing Crooks’ laptop also found searches for Trump, Biden, when the DNC convention was taking place and the July 13 Trump rally.
Crooks also looked up “major depressive disorder” on his phone, the Times said.
Investigators now believe an online gaming account in the name of the man who shot at Trump over the weekend is fake, CNN is reporting, citing a US official briefed on the matter. Multiple media outlets including CNN, Fox News and the Daily Mail reported that Secret Service and FBI officials told U.S. senators during a briefing Wednesday that Crooks posted on Steam the message, “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.” But the official told CNN the FBI has revised that assessment.
Steam is a popular platform where millions of gamers communicate and gain access to 30,000 games, according to the website. The gaming platform Discord has said Crooks was a user, but the company said it found no evidence Crooks used the platform to “plan this incident, promote violence or discuss his political views.”
Iran denies assassination plot claim: US lawmakers slam Secret Service response
A group of U.S. senators confronted and then chased Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, demanding answers about the shooting, according to a video posted on social media by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee.
The four-minute-long clip shows a handful of GOP senators peppering Cheatle with questions about gaps in security at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, including one moment when Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, asks: “Why would anyone allow the president to go onstage when you know you’ve got a potential threat?”
Cheatle declined to answer any questions, which came in the hospitality suite for RNC security partners. She told the senators she was “happy to answer questions,” but would “do it in an appropriate format.”
“Resignation or full explanation to us right now,” Barrasso can be heard telling Cheatle in the video. Read more here.
− Karissa Waddick and Savannah Kuchar
Senators chase Secret Service director: Demand answers on Trump shooting
An instructor at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, was put on unpaid leave over what university officials said was an “offensive and unacceptable social media post.” Hours later John James was no longer employed there, the Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
Plenty of people took to social media to make jokes and comments about the shooting, and they’re reaping the consequences. A restaurant worker, a fire chief and a political aide are among those who also lost their jobs or resigned after outrage over their posts, according to statements by their employers and news reports. Read more here.
“No matter how private your life is, everybody has an audience,” said Karen North, a professor of digital social media at USC and a psychologist. “And there’s always an audience for people misbehaving.”
− Jeanine Santucci
People across the nation have lost jobs after posts about Trump shooting
Wounded rallygoers James Copenhaver, 74, and David Dutch, 57, have been upgraded to serious condition, Allegheny General Hospital said Wednesday. Dutch’s family issued a statement thanking the local community and “countless others across the country and world” for the outpouring of support, prayers and well-wishes for the 57-year-old former Marine.
“David and our entire family are especially grateful to all the first responders and medical professionals who saved his life, including the Life Flight and trauma surgical teams at AGH,” the statement says. “As we focus on David’s recovery, we also offer our deepest condolences and prayers for the other victims of this tragic event and their families.
Secret Service head ‘needs to go’: Senators call for ouster after Trump attack briefing
Multiple GOP senators are calling for new leadership at the Secret Service after Wednesday’s briefing on the attack against Trump. “This was a 100% cover-your-ass briefing,” Barrasso posted on X. “Someone has died. The President was almost killed. The head of the Secret Service needs to go.”
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on X that getting new leadership at the Secret Service would be an “important step” toward answers and accountability. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X that “a bunch” of senators raised their hands to ask questions of the Secret Service at the briefing, but the call was cut off after only a few questions.”
“So much smoke and mirrors,” Lee said in one post. “So little accountability.”
− Tom Vanden Brook, Josh Meyer and Aysha Bagchi
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/07/18/trump-shooting-updates-investigation-crooks/74452006007/
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Publish date : 2024-07-18 15:05:33
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