What to know
- A gunman opened fire on former President Donald Trump at a rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.
- Authorities identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park. He was a member of a local gun club and worked as a dietary aide at a nursing facility. He was a registered Republican who once made a $15 donation to a progressive political organization.
- More than a dozen guns were found at Crooks' family's home, four senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.
- Police went to the Crooks home after his father called police saying he was worried because his son and his AR rifle were missing, three senior officials said. The call came after Crooks opened fire at the rally.
- Authorities have not been able to determine a motive for the attempted assassination.
FBI working 24 hours a day on Crooks' phone and laptop
Technicians at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, are working 24 hours a day, forensically analyzing Thomas Crooks' cellphone and laptop computer, senior FBI officials told NBC News.
The FBI said in a statement earlier today that the technicians had successfully gained access to his phone.
The officials said that while it took a day to unlock the phone, the lab eventually did so on its own and without help from any outside firm — as was the case after the 2015 San Bernardino, California, mass shooting, when the FBI relied on a little-known Australian firm to assist in unlocking one of the shooter’s phones.
The searches of the electronic devices have yet to reveal a motive, but the analysis continues.
The FBI also expects to release more information about the explosive device found in Crooks' car.
Shooter's high school counselor 'flabbergasted' it was him
A former high school counselor who knew Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks all four years he attended Bethel Park High School said he was stunned and “flabbergasted” to find out Crooks was the gunman.
“Thomas was a quiet young man, an intelligent young man, but he did keep to himself,” former school counselor Jim Knapp said.
“He had a handful of friends. In the cafeteria, I’d sit down with him and I’d say, ‘Thomas, would you like me to get some kids over here?’ And he’d say, ‘Nope, Mr. Knapp, I want to be by myself.’ Which is fine,” Knapp said.
Knapp said counselors at the high school met with students twice a year to go over class schedules, assist those who needed help and address any issues they were having at school.
Knapp said he never got a call from a teacher about Crooks’ getting into trouble or not doing his homework.
“Thomas was a very good student. He wasn’t in trouble. So I didn’t get those calls,” Knapp said.
Knapp said he was shocked when he learned Crooks was the shooter.
“When I got the first text on Sunday … I was flabbergasted,” Knapp said. “I go back and I think about it, and I say evil is in the world, and that’s what I believe happened with Thomas. He snapped. I believe that the devil and the evil really invaded his brain and that made him do what he did.”
House Oversight Committee formally requests documents from Secret Service
The House Oversight Committee formally requested documents from the Secret Service as it investigates the assassination attempt.
The committee plans to hold a hearing on the attack next Monday.
It requested that the Secret Service by Thursday provide a roster of personnel, all audio and video related to the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally where Trump was shot at, and any memos or notice about the assassination attempt.
A subsequent list of information — including any identified pre-site security concerns — was requested for no later than July 29.
Trump arrival at RNC sparks ‘USA! USA!’ chants from crowd
The crowd at the Republican National Convention chanted “USA! USA!” and “We love Trump,” among other cheers, as Trump arrived at the convention and went to a VIP box.
Trump had a bandage on the ear where he was wounded in an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally.
He did not take the stage at the event, where he will accept the nomination Thursday. He went to a red seating section with family members and VIPs, shaking hands and exchanging greetings with those there. He was shown on a large video screen.
Trump stood with his vice presidential nominee, JD Vance. The crowd chanted “fight, fight” and “We love Trump.”
Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric were there, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., among others.
Trump shows up at RNC with bandage on his ear
Trump arrived at the convention tonight in his first public appearance since the attempt on his life.
Trump had a bandage over his ear, which was injured in the shooting Saturday.
Mayorkas says independent review of Secret Service and police actions needs to move swiftly
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said today that he has “100% confidence” in Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and the agency and that an independent review of security will happen as quickly as possible.
“Since the attempted assassination of former President Trump, we across the government are focused with urgency to understand how it happened,” Mayorkas said at a White House briefing.
An “independent review” will look at the Secret Service and other law enforcement actions surrounding the rally and the shooting, Mayorkas said.
The review will make findings and recommendations, which will be made public, he said. Who will lead the review has not yet been decided, he said.
“We need to move with swiftness and urgency, because this is a security imperative,” Mayorkas said.
Receipt for a ladder found on gunman
A Home Depot receipt indicating the purchase of a ladder was found on the gunman in the assassination attempt, two senior officials told NBC News.
Officials are looking to see whether that ladder was taken to the site of the shooting and whether it was used to get up to the roof from where the gunman fired.
Police warned Secret Service of a suspicious person at Trump rally before gunman opened fire, source says
Before a would-be assassin took aim at Trump at his campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, local police officers notified his Secret Service detail that they were looking for a suspicious person in the area, a U.S. official told NBC News.
It is not clear what time the Secret Service was notified and whether it was before Trump took the stage on the grounds of the Butler Farm Show, a venue roughly 36 miles north of Pittsburgh. The U.S. official said the Secret Service was told of a suspicious person before local police discovered Crooks on the roof of a nearby glass research company’s building. That discovery occurred shortly before Crooks opened fire, according to two law enforcement sources.
The timing raises questions about whether other measures could have been taken to stop Crooks.
Trump says assassination attempt left 'an impact'
Trump told ABC News the attempt on his life has made “an impact” on him.
Trump said that he spoke to Biden, who called him in the hours following the attack, and that Biden “couldn’t have been nicer.”
Biden described the conversation as “very cordial” in an exclusive interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt today.
House Oversight Committee to hold hearing on Secret Service protection
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing next Monday that it says is aimed at getting answers from the director of the Secret Service over the shooting Saturday.
“The United States Secret Service has a no-fail mission, yet it failed on Saturday when a madman attempted to assassinate President Trump, killed an innocent victim, and harmed others,” Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement.
Comer said the hearing “will conduct oversight of the U.S. Secret Service to gather information from Director Kimberly Cheatle.”
It is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET.
