Law enforcement officials say a shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania is being investigated as an attempted assassination of the former president and presumptive Republican nominee.
The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service said it killed the suspected shooter, who attacked from a rooftop of a nearby building outside the rally venue.
Trump called Sunday for unity and resilience as shocked leaders across the political divide reacted to the shooting.
Former President Donald Trump praised Secret Service agents who acted quickly to protect him and get him offstage following the attempt on his life at his Saturday rally in Pennsylvania.
“They did a fantastic job,” he said in an interview with the New York Post on Sunday.
Reflecting on the shooting, Trump said, “I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead.”
Trump praised the crowd at his rally for how they reacted in the moment.
“A lot of places, especially soccer games, you hear a single shot, everybody runs. Here there were many shots and they stayed,” he said, adding, “I love them. They are such great people.”
In the interview, which the Post reported also included a reporter from the Washington Examiner, Trump addressed the call he received from President Joe Biden saying it was “very nice.”
The FBI says its investigation into the assassination attempt on former Donald Trump remains very active.
An official who spoke to ABC News late Sunday night said that while the evidence currently points toward a lone wolf shooter, the FBI will not be comfortable until they fully exploit the suspect’s phone and dig deeper into his life.
In a statement Sunday night, the FBI said in a statement it “continues to conduct logical investigative activity to determine if there were any co-conspirators associated with this attack.”
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