On Saturday, July 13, former President Donald Trump was campaigning at one of his trademark rallies right outside of Butler, Pennsylvania, when a series of gunshots rang out as Trump started to talk about immigration.
As shots were fired between the suspect and Secret Service, Trump was struck or grazed in the ear by one of the bullets intended to kill him. Experts have since said a last second turn of Trump’s head saved his life.
One rally attendee was killed and two individuals other than Trump were injured in the incident. Authorities identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old man from the nearby town of Bethel Park, and have yet to determine a motive behind the attack on the former president and presumptive Republican nominee.
In the days following the attempt on Trump’s life, many hopped onto their social media profiles and with speculatiion and their own theories regarding the botched assassination attempt. For many, these conspiracies have resulted in a massive onslaught of misinformation and untruths being spread to millions who have access to an internet connection. The impact of so many contradicting and misleading messages has already been shown to result in massive social divisiveness and potential violence.
What we know about the assassination attempt
Information regarding the July 13 attempt has continued to come out in the days since Trump was whisked off the stage.
In order to get into one of Trump’s rallies, attendees must go through an intense security screening process, which includes checking for prohibited items such as weapons. Secret Service also evaluates the venue and its surroundings to ensure the perimeter is secure.
This event had four separate counter-sniper teams assigned — two from the Secret Service and two from local law enforcement. Prior to the Saturday rally, Secret Service had actually increased Trump’s security after receiving intelligence indicating Iran was plotting its own assassination plot. The Iranian attempt theory has not been shown to have any relationship to the events that took place July 13.
On the day of the shooting, perpetrator Thomas Matthew Crooks borrowed his father’s rifle—a DPMS Panther Arms-produced AR-15–style rifle (some sources have reported Crooks’ father gave him the gun as a gift or sold it to him). ABC News reported the father allowed Crooks to use his rifle for “target shooting” on occasion, which was why the father didn’t have any suspicions when Crooks asked to use the firearm that Saturday. Crooks also had explosive devices in the car he took to the venue, which law enforcement discovered after the shooting.
At 5:45 p.m., a member of the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit tactical team saw Crooks on a roof, notified other security services, and photographed Crooks. The officer saw him “scoping out” the rooftop of the building and carrying a golf rangefinder. Secret Service officers spotted Crooks on the rooftop roughly 20 minutes before the shooting. Reports indicated that several bystanders also witnessed a man on the roof carrying a rifle and alerted the police about him nearly a minute and a half before shots were fired at Trump.
A Butler Township police officer climbed up on the roof and tried to confront Crooks. When Crooks turned his weapon to the officer, he retreated back down, Butler County Sheriff Michael T. Slupe told ABC News.
Once Crooks was spotted by law enforcement, he fired several shots in the direction of Trump. One shot struck the former president’s right ear as he turned his head to look at an infographic.
The gunman was killed by one of the four snipers set up around the perimeter. The FBI is now the entity investigating the case.
What we know (or don’t know) about the shooter
Crooks was from Bethel Park in Pennsylvania, about 43 miles from the site of the attempted assassination. He graduated high school in 2022 and worked in a local nursing home kitchen after graduating from the local community college earlier this year.
Voter records showed Crooks was a registered Republican, though he donated to a progressive campaign group, ActBlue, in 2021 according to an election donation filing and news reports.
Max Smith, one of Crooks’ school classmates, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his former classmate “definitely was conservative. The majority of the class were on the liberal side, but Tom, no matter what, always stood his ground on the conservative side,” he recounted.
Some people who went to school with Crooks spoke to local news outlet KDKA, describing him as a loner and painting him to be a shy, quiet kid. Others shared that Crooks was seen as an intelligent kid with a love for history, who was well-liked by his teachers.
The big question…why?
Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the attempt, which turns out, isn’t as clear as law enforcement thought it would be.
Authorities on the investigation were able to gain access to Crooks’ phone on July 15, and his family is cooperating with the FBI in its investigation.
It has since been revealed Crooks had visited the venue — Butler County fairgrounds, at least once in the days before the assassination attempt. He also had searched for symptoms of a depressive episode on his phone, according to reports from BBC News. They also found searches related to Donald Trump, Joe Biden, the Democratic National Convention and the rally in Butler.
More than 200 interviews have been conducted and 14,000 images reviewed, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray. As od this writing, it is believed Crooks acted alone.
The conspiracies come from right and left
People were quick to insert their own theories into the discourse surrounding the attempted assassination, some of which included the belief of the incident being completely staged.
Speculation online claimed the Trump campaign planned for this to happen, to show off “a resolute Trump surviving an attempt on his life,” as one CNN reporter mentioned. Purportedly edited photos of the Secret Service appearing to smile during the shooting made their rounds online, adding kerosene to the pile of misinformation set ablaze by the unfiltered nature of social media.
On conservative social media spaces, the rumor was spread that Trump was also shot in the chest and was only saved by a bulletproof vest. This was accompanied with a photo where people claimed they could see a hole in Trump’s clothes. However, reports released by investigators and the former president’s team indicate the president only had a wound on his right ear..
The facts are simple: as of now, we don’t know why Crooks shot at the former president. We don’t know how much the Secret Service knew, or didn’t know about Crooks’ plans. That information will hopefully be revealed through the investigations being conducted by the Biden Administration, the FBI and Congress.
What we do know is this attack confirms even more the increase in polarization in American politics: something Trump has played an instrumental role in accelerating.
All acts of violence of violence should be condemned, but we also need to be sure to hold those people accountable who use rhetoric to encourage such actions.