What to know
- A report of a suspicious person was received an hour before a gunman opened fire at former President Donald Trump, a senator said.
- The Department of Homeland Security said its inspector general would investigate the Secret Service's security operation at the rally Saturday.
- Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said that "the buck stops with me" and that the assassination attempt Saturday "should have never happened."
- Corey Comperatore, 50, a former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company, was killed in the shooting, and two other people — David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74 — were injured.
- The shooter has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He was a member of a local gun club and worked as a dietary aide at a nursing facility.
Trump rally shooter was reported as a suspicious person an hour before opening fire, sources say
Secret Service and FBI officials shared a timeline of events that revealed troubling new details about the assassination attempt and raised questions about why Secret Service officials allowed Trump to take the stage.
Thomas Matthew Crooks — who had a range finder and a backpack with him — was reported as a suspicious person one hour before he began shooting, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said in a statement after the briefing.
“This was a 100% cover-your-ass briefing,” Barrasso said. “He had a range finder and a backpack. The Secret Service lost sight of him.”
Roughly 30 minutes after the initial suspicious person report, Pennsylvania State Police notified the Secret Service of a suspicious person at 5:51 p.m. The Secret Service notified its snipers at 5:53 p.m., the sources said.
At 6:02 p.m., Trump took the stage. At 6:09 p.m., members of the crowd notified police that Crooks, 20, was on a rooftop. Two minutes later, Crooks opened fire on Trump at 6:11 p.m.
Ex-Trump officials say they asked the Biden DOJ for protection from Iranian threats but never got an answer
WASHINGTON — Three former Trump administration officials who say they were warned that Iran had targeted them wrote a letter to the Justice Department 18 months ago asking for help protecting them but never received a response, according to the officials.
“It is clear there are specific, credible threats against us and our families by Iran and those inspired to act on Iran’s behalf,” the officials wrote in the letter, a copy of which they provided to NBC News. “This necessitates urgent steps to improve our physical and cyber security.”
The officials are former deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and two top officials who focused on the Middle East at the National Security Council, Victoria Coates and Robert Greenway.
Secret Service says it’s appalled by DEI rhetoric against female agents after Trump rally shooting
The Secret Service said today it stood by its female agents and was appalled by some of the criticism they’ve received on conservative social media since the attempted assassination.
The Secret Service said in a statement to NBC News that the criticism from pundits and influencers was baseless. The agency also stood by its commitment to diversity in recruiting as helping, not hurting, the effectiveness of its protective teams.
The statement follows a multiday campaign of derision by some conservatives who accused Kimberly Cheatle, the Secret Service director, of being unqualified and who said female agents assigned to Trump hadn’t been physically capable of protecting him. Some critics said the Secret Service should return to being all male, which it hasn’t been since 1970.
Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service’s chief of communication, said in the statement: “We stand united against any attempt to discredit our personnel and their invaluable contributions to our mission and are appalled by the disparaging and disgusting comments against any of our personnel.”
Trump shooter’s gun club defends its culture: ‘That’s not us’
A gun club nestled in heavy woods on the outskirts of Pittsburgh was thrust into the national spotlight after one of its members tried to assassinate Trump.
Clairton Sportsmen’s Club denounced the “senseless act of violence” in a statement Sunday, acknowledging that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was a member.
The extent of Crooks’ participation at the club is so far unknown. In interviews this week, its president, an ex-employee and a former member defended its reputation as a safe environment with a family-friendly culture that emphasizes the importance of firearms safety.
Bill Sellitto, the club’s president, said in a phone call yesterday that violence is “not in our culture.”
“What happened Saturday was a horrifically terrible thing. We’re just sick about it,” he said. “I mean, that’s not us. I don’t know what else to say about that. It’s impacting the club. There’s a bunch of us that have slept about a few hours in the last three days.”
Officer saw gunman on roof moments before shooting but was 'defenseless,' officials say
A police officer saw the shooter moments before he fired at Trump but was "defenseless" and unable to stop him, officials said today.
Upon Trump's arrival ahead of the rally at the Butler Farm Show, a call went out about a "suspicious male" near a building of a glass research company, prompting officers to conduct a search, Butler Township Manager Tom Knights said in a statement, adding that its police were tasked with traffic control ahead of the motorcade's arrival.
A search around the building yielded no results, and there was no ladder in sight, but a Butler Township police officer, with the help of another officer, began pulling himself up to the roof, Knights said.
"The officer was pulling himself up to the roof when he made visual contact with an individual who pointed a rifle at him," Knights said. "The officer was in a defenseless position and there was no way he could engage the actor while holding onto the roof edge."
The officer let go and fell to the ground, and police immediately communicated where the person was and that he was armed, Knights said. Moments later, the person started firing, Knights added.
He said Butler Township will not comment further until the investigation report is publicized.
In an earlier interview with NBC News, Knights pushed back against accusations that the officers failed to keep Trump safe.
“Our officers acted instinctively, did their job, followed the training that they had,” Knights said.
No motive found yet in assassination attempt, senior official says
Investigators have yet to determine a motive for the attempted assassination, a senior law enforcement official said today.
Despite dozens of interviews and reviews of electronics, federal investigators say they have not identified what spurred the shooter to fire at Trump, the official said.
Vice President Harris calls shooting a 'cowardly act'
Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the attempted assassination today, calling it a "horrible and cowardly act."
Mitch McConnell demands new Secret Service leadership
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., posted on social media today that the Secret Service should get new leadership in the wake of security failures at the Trump rally.
A growing number of politicians are calling on Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign.
Eric Trump says Secret Service director should resign
Eric Trump, the former president's son, called for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign on “Meet the Press NOW.”
Crooks told his employer he would be back to work Sunday
A senior U.S. law enforcement official confirmed that Crooks requested Saturday off from his job at a nursing home but told his employer he would be in Sunday.
The shooter worked at the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center as a dietary aide.