Butler, Pennsylvania – Some attendees at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, waited around the Butler Farm Show grounds as early as 8 a.m. Saturday to get a good view of the former president when the event began later that day.
Four years ago, in October 2020, President Trump visited the close-knit rural town north of Pittsburgh ahead of the last election.
Locals were looking forward to round two this weekend, some bringing their children along to watch what promised to be an unforgettable night.
“A lot of people I know are shocked that something like this happened here. This is Trump country,” John Fosmort told Fox News Digital.
Trump assassin had explosives in car parked near rally, bomb-making materials at home: sources
clock:
At about 6:10 p.m., minutes after Trump took the stage, the crowd heard gunshots.
Some people initially thought they heard firecrackers or fireworks, while others said they were used to hearing gun sounds but immediately realized what was going on, especially given the surrounding environment and the target.
Pennsylvania State Police identify victim shot in assassination attempt on former President Trump
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump is assisted by security guards after shots rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA, on July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid)
Trump then crouched down with his hands over his ears, and the crowd followed suit, with one protester beginning to shield those around him with folding metal chairs as makeshift shields.
Photo Gallery: Assassination Attempt of Former President Donald Trump
clock:
Jamie Santoro said he was in the same area as former Buffalo Township Fire Chief Corey Comperatore, who was shot and killed while trying to protect his family from gunfire.
Santoro said he saw blood on the seats where attendees were standing and that he was unknowingly putting himself in danger as he listened to Trump’s speech.
How Secret Service protocol has changed over the years of presidential assassination attempts
Former Buffalo Township Fire Chief Corey Comperatore is pictured with his daughters in an undated family photo after Thomas Matthew Crooks, a suspected assassin of former President Donald Trump, shot and killed Comperatore during a gunfight at a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, authorities said. Secret Service agents returned fire, killing Crooks. (Helen Comperatore/Facebook)
“[I]”It is so insensitive and vicious to read the comments and posts on social media that belittle this incident,” Santoro said, calling the online abuse following the shooting, which left a father dead and two others critically injured, “disheartening, disheartening and frankly incomprehensible.”
Authorities identified the two injured as David Duch, 57, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Both are currently in stable condition.
Santoro said he saw people “pass out” after witnessing the shooting.
Drone footage shows police investigating a shooting at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump on July 14, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)
The gunman, Thomas Crooks (20), of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was also killed. The U.S. Secret Service shot and killed Crooks from the roof of a building about 160 yards from where Trump stood surrounded by supporters.
The agency is now investigating why the shooter was able to not only approach the rally with an AR-15, but also get so close to the former president.
On Saturday, July 13, 2024, Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania when gunfire erupted and a police sniper returned fire. (AP Photo/Jean J. Puskar)
After the shots were fired, there were loud, frantic screams and some attendees telling others to get down, but the crowd otherwise remained relatively calm — so calm, in fact, that some people could hear the Secret Service say “the shooter is down” and the former president say he needed to put on his shoes.
Shooting at Trump rally investigated as assassination attempt
A shoe is left on the stage after former President Donald Trump is escorted off the stage during a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Trump was escorted off the stage after a loud noise was heard after he began his speech, causing him to duck. (Javin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“[I]”The crowd was very peaceful. … It honestly felt like we were in church,” David Trepanier said, “and when the event was over, nobody ran. Everybody was calm and we just walked out. It was really an incredibly moving experience.”
David Boch told Fox News Digital that he has been watching the Secret Service “all the time” because he’s “pretty fascinated” by it.
Secret Service members and a crowd gather at a rally for former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“They were looking through binoculars and then all of a sudden they started raising their rifles,” David Boch told Fox News Digital. “And then they had their rifles and they were looking toward the ARG building. And then within 10 seconds, you hear the gunman shoot and the Secret Service fires back.”
David’s father, Dave Boch, said he was surprised the shooter had climbed to the roof of the building with a rifle.
The Bethel Park School District has confirmed that the suspect in the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump is a Bethel Park High School graduate. Thomas Matthew Crooks is a graduate of Bethel Park High School in the class of 2022. (Bethel Park School District)
“Trump, [Republican National] “The convention. He knows what Pennsylvania means to him. He knows this area,” Dave Boch told Fox News Digital. “… I can’t believe a 20-year-old would come up with an AR-15, an entire election would go through here. You’d think there’d be double security.”
“You’d think there’d be double security.”
Most rally attendees were grateful that security was able to eliminate the threat and keep Trump safe, as he walked away bleeding from his ears, but they were confused as to how a 20-year-old suspect came so close to killing the former president in the first place.
A video shows gunfire aimed at Republican candidate Donald Trump at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, leaving Trump supporters in the stands covered in blood. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
Trepanier believes security at the event was “very poor.” He and his wife went through a security checkpoint upon arrival, where police officers were checking people’s belongings and watching attendees go through metal detectors. At one point, however, they left the “security area” and sat in the shade. When they returned, no one checked them.
“I’m grateful for the snipers, but why? … I know where these buildings are,” he said. “Why didn’t they find this guy on the rooftop, even if he was hiding?”
Biden meets with Trump after Pennsylvania rally shooting
Members of the crowd duck under chairs after former President Donald Trump was escorted off the stage during a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Trump ducked and was escorted off the stage after a loud bang was heard early in his speech. (Javin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“I don’t let them guard the kennels. I get very emotional about it,” Trepanier added.
Crooks had no criminal record and was a registered Republican, according to voting records. November 8, 2022 State Election, Because of his age, he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a Chicago-based political action committee that supports Democratic candidates for office and claims to advocate for “the Democratic Party’s core constituencies: young people, minorities and low-income voters.”
Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, USA, July 14, 2024. An aerial photo shows police vehicles working at the home of Thomas Matthew Crooks (20), a man named by the FBI as a “person of interest” in the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump. (Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid)
Click here to get the FOX News app
The FBI said it continues to investigate Crooks and any other information available to it.
“This incident remains an active investigation and anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to submit photos or videos online at FBI.gov/butler or call 1-800-CALL-FBI,” the statement continued.
Fox News’ Scott MacDonald contributed to this report.
