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Trump shooting live updates: Family of man killed at rally releases new statement

One spectator was killed and two were hurt in Saturday's shooting.

Last Updated: July 18, 2024, 9:28 AM EDT

Federal authorities are investigating after former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

The alleged shooter was killed by snipers. One spectator was killed and two were hurt, officials said.

    7:59 AM EDT

    What we know about the shooting

    Investigators working to determine a motive behind the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump found a message posted to the gaming platform Steam that they believe was authored by the suspect, in which he said that "July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds," according to three law enforcement sources briefed on the probe. Read more here.

    This aerial image shows the location of the stage at the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., and the suspected shooter's location on a rooftop near the venue.
    ABC News

    9:28 AM EDT

    Senators chase down Secret Service director at RNC

    Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and other Republican senators chased down Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle at the Republican National Convention Wednesday.

    Multiple sources told ABC News that Cheatle was on the suite level of the convention hall, and when she was spotted, multiple senators chased her.

    "This was an assassination attempt -- you owe the people answers, you owe President Trump answers," Blackburn said in reference to the shooting at Trump's rally on Saturday, according to a video.

    PHOTO: Illustration
    This graphic shows the location of the stage at the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024, and the suspected shooter's location on a rooftop near the venue.
    ABC News

    Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, is heard accusing Cheatle of "stonewalling" them as she refused to respond to their repeated jeers, based on videos posted to the senators' social media.

    Blackburn said Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla, and Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., also joined them in confronting the director.

    "She can run, but she cannot hide," Blackburn said in a separate video. "Because the American people want to know how an assassination attempt was carried out on former President Donald Trump."

    -ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Allie Pecorin

    9:07 AM EDT

    'God was with me,' Trump tells supporters

    PBS News has obtained video of former President Donald Trump’s Wednesday appearance during the movie screening of "Trump’s Rescue Mission: Saving America."

    Trump told supporters of the shooting, “I got lucky, God was with me.”

    Secret Service tend to republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump onstage at a rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania.
    Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    "That was an amazing, horrible thing. Amazing thing, and in many ways it changes your attitude, your viewpoint towards life. And honestly, I think you appreciate God even more," he said.

    "It wasn’t like it was a complete miss. It was pretty terrible that that can happen," Trump added.

    -ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh and Soorin Kim

    8:34 AM EDT

    Gunman may have left message on gaming platform

    Investigators are examining a message left on a gaming platform site purported to have been authored by the suspect, according to multiple law enforcement sources briefed on the probe.

    Investigators, according to multiple law enforcement sources, found a post on the gaming platform Steam that is credited to the suspected gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The post reads, "July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds." Investigators are working to determine whether the post is legitimate.

    Investigators are still working to determine a motive behind the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

    Crooks had been registered as a Republican voter, according to state records. But a $15 donation to a progressive group was also recorded under "Thomas Crooks" in January 2021, according to FEC records.

    This post has been updated based on additional information from the FBI.

    The Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, is seen Monday July 15, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
    Gene J. Puskar/AP

    6:50 PM EDT

    Suspected gunman had searched for Trump’s rally date, DNC convention

    Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected gunman in the assassination attempt on Donald Trump last Saturday, searched on his phone for the dates of the former president’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and for dates of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

    Crooks also searched on his phone for images of both the former president and current president, sources said.

    The suspect’s phone search history revealed no indication of his political views.

    -ABC News' Aaron Katersky

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