Suspect is a male, officials say
The suspected shooter at the Trump rally is a male, according to four senior U.S. law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.
'Something wrong in America right now,' Rep. Mike Kelly says
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., said "something is wrong in America right now" as he described being at the rally with his young grandchildren.
In an on-air interview, Kelly said he attended the rally with 10 of his grandchildren, ages 4 to 12.
Kelly said the rally started as a “beautiful summer day” where people were celebrating and grilling food. The aftermath was “just shaking you,” he said.
“I’m really concerned as we go forward that there’s something wrong in America right now,” Kelly said.
Kelly recalled seeing rallygoers about 10 rows up with blood on their shirts and a man being carried out of the stands. Kelly said he later learned the man had died.
He repeatedly said the U.S. had “succumbed” to being “a Third World country” and called on people to "pray for America" and "pray for President Trump."
Biden was attending Mass at time of Trump rally shooting
Biden learned of the shooting after he came out of a Catholic Mass in Delaware, said a source familiar with the matter. Biden wanted to address the nation "as soon as he was fully briefed," the person said.
Witness at Trump rally describes seeing the person who died being shot in head
BUTLER, Pa. — A man who was at Trump’s rally today described the moment he saw another attendee drop to the ground, dead, after having been shot in the head.
The witness, identified only by his first name, Joseph, said he was sitting in a set of bleachers at the far left of the podium when he heard “several gunshots” ring out. He said he saw a man a couple of yards away fall to the bottom of the bleachers after he was being shot in the head.
He said that it seemed like the shots were coming from behind the bleachers and that the man was hit from behind, in the back of the head. Joseph said he helped officials carry the man off the bleachers to a tent nearby.
“The way politics goes in this country, it just seems like it’s very polarized,” he said. “Everyone’s just very angry. I’m honestly shocked this didn’t happen earlier.”
GOP seizes on Democratic bill targeting Secret Service protection for felons
Republican lawmakers are seizing on legislation Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., introduced more than two months ago that would strip Trump of his Secret Service protection if he were sentenced to prison in his New York case or other cases.
Thompson, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee and former chairman of the select committee that investigated Trump's role in the Jan. 6 attack, introduced the bill in April. It would terminate Secret Service protection for anyone convicted of a federal or state felony, which includes Trump, who was found guilty on 34 felony counts in a hush money trial in New York in May.
Thompson said today that he's "grateful for law enforcement's fast response" to the shooting and that "there is no room in American democracy for political violence."
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a Trump ally, replied to the post from Thompson on X: “Rich coming from the Representative who sponsored this legislation,” he said, referring to Thompson’s bill.
Some GOP aides also began circulating the list of nine House Democrats who backed Thompson’s bill.
Thompson responded to Republicans in a statement, saying the legislation was aimed at clarifying "the lines of authority when a protectee is sentenced to prison."
“My bill would not have affected the Secret Service’s presence during this tragic event," he said.
Republicans and right-wing media begin to blame Biden and Democrats
Some Republican politicians and media personalities have begun to point fingers for today’s shooting, assigning blame to Biden and Democrats.
Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, part of Trump's shortlist for a vice presidential running mate, tweeted that he believed the Biden campaign's rhetoric directly contributed to a shooting attempt.
"The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination," he wrote on X.
Republican Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia squarely blamed Biden, writing “Joe Biden sent the orders” on X, sharing a quote Biden reportedly made during a call with donors Monday. According to Politico, which reported that it had obtained a recording of the call, Biden said: “I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who was shot at a congressional baseball practice in 2017, criticized Democratic leaders, writing on X that they had been "fueling ludicrous hysteria that Donald Trump winning re-election would be the end of democracy in America."
Scalise continued: "Clearly we’ve seen far left lunatics act on violent rhetoric in the past. This incendiary rhetoric must stop."
Trump adviser Stephen Miller echoed Scalise's statement, writing on X, "The entire campaign message of the Democrat Party has been the vile and monstrous lie that Trump and the GOP are trying to end democracy. This mammoth lie, this sinister poison, this terrible hate and defamation, must stop. It must stop."
In larger right-wing media, the sentiment verged closer to conspiracy theories.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk claimed in the immediate aftermath in a livestream that "the Democrats wanted this and are upset it didn’t work." Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones blamed the "deep state."
Police clear block surrounding Allegheny General Hospital as helicopters arrive
Dozens of law enforcement officers from the Pittsburgh police and the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office closed the block surrounding Allegheny General Hospital shortly after a helicopter arrived around 8 p.m., landing on the roof. A second helicopter landed shortly before 8:30 p.m., and a third arrived before 9 p.m.
A small crowd has started to gather across the street from the hospital.
House Oversight chair calls for Secret Service briefing and hearing
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., a close Trump ally, issued a statement saying he's asked the Secret Service for a briefing on the shooting and also plans to hold a hearing on "the assassination attempt" as well.
“Political violence in all forms is unamerican and unacceptable,” Comer said. "There are many questions and Americans demand answers. I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. The Oversight Committee will send a formal invitation soon.”
No sign of links to foreign actor, U.S. official says
There is no sign at the moment that the shooting at the Trump rally had any link to a foreign actor, according to a U.S. official.
Sen. Tim Scott says the left and media 'aided and abetted' attack
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., whom Trump has mentioned as a potential running mate, said in a post on X that the shooting was "an assassination attempt."
He claimed that it was "aided and abetted by the radical Left and corporate media incessantly calling Trump a threat to democracy, fascists, or worse."