A timeline of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13.

A former fire chief attending the rally with family was killed, as was the gunman. Two other people were critically wounded.

An Associated Press analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos from the scene in Butler, Pennsylvania, as well as satellite imagery of the site, shows the shooter was able to get astonishingly close to the stage from which Trump.

Here's what's known so far about the timeline of the shooting that day:

Earlier in the day, July 13

— Officials say Thomas Matthew Crooks bought 50 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition for his AK-15-style rifle in Bethel Parks, Pennsylvania and drove north to Butler, location of the Butler Farm Show where Trump was to hold a rally.

— Crooks, 20, parked at a gas station lot about one-third of a mile from the event.

Around 5 p.m.

— A young man is seen pacing around the edges of the rally area, looking at the buildings, acting suspicious. Rallygoers capture his image in cellphone video.

Around 5:20 p.m.

— Local law enforcement took notice of the man with a backpack and a range finder. They radioed their concerns and snapped a photo. But then the man vanished. The image was circulated by officers stationed outside the security perimeter.

Around 5:40 p.m.

— Local law enforcement spot the man again about 20 minutes before the shooting.

6:02 p.m.

— Trump takes the stage to the strains of “God Bless the U.S.A." He waves at the cheering crowd and begins his regular rally speech, with spectators in front of him and behind him on risers.

— As Trump is speaking, Secret Service two-person sniper teams can be seen positioned on rooftops behind the stage, looking in opposite directions.

Around 6:09 p.m.

— Witnesses reported seeing a man climbing onto the roof of a one-story building closest to the stage. He then set up his AR-style rifle and lay on the rooftop, a detonator in his pocket to set off crude explosive devices that were stashed in his car parked nearby.

— Rallygoers yell to officers, pointing and shouting that an armed man had climbed to the roof of a nearby building. Witnesses capture his image in cellphone video.

— A local officer climbed to the roof, according to Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe.

— A man identified by the FBI as Crooks turned toward the officer just before the officer dropped down to safety, Slupe said.

— Butler Township Manager Tom Knights said the officer lost his grip and was not retreating when he fell 8 feet (2.4 meters) to the ground.

— The roof where Crooks lay was an estimated 147 yards (135 meters) from where Trump was speaking.

6:11 p.m.

— Trump continued his speech and turned to his right to point toward a screen displaying border-crossing numbers when three shots were heard.

— As the first pop rings out, Trump says "Oh” and raises his hand to his right ear and looks at it, before quickly crouching to the ground behind his lectern.

— Secret Service agents rush to the stage and pile atop the former president to shield him. Rallygoers scream, crouch down and run away as heavily armed law enforcement officers surround the stage.

— Seconds after the first three shots, five more shots ring out in rapid succession.

— Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief attending the rally, is shot and killed. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Comperatore used his body as a shield to protect his wife and daughter.

— Comperatore was seated in bleachers between where Crooks was positioned and where Trump was standing.

— Two spectators were critically wounded. One of the injured spectators was seated in the bleachers to the left of Trump as he faced forward. The bullet appeared to go past Trump, hitting the person.

— Other rallygoers and some law enforcement personnel suffered minor injuries from flying debris.

— Secret Service countersnipers fire back and fatally wound Crooks.

About one minute after the shooter is hit

— The Secret Service says the shooter is down.

— Video shows Trump getting to his feet and reaching with his right hand toward his face, which was smeared with blood.

— As Trump stands up, he pumps his right fist to the crowd.

— He appears to mouth the word “fight” twice to supporters, prompting loud cheers and then chants of “USA. USA. USA.”

About two minutes after the shots

— Trump turns back to the crowd and again raises a fist right before agents put him into a vehicle and take him to a local hospital.

6:50 p.m.

— Secret Service says “the former President is safe.”

8:42 p.m.

— Trump posts on his social media site that he was wounded in the upper part of his right ear. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he said.

— In a prime-time address, President Joe Biden urged the public to recommit to civil debate. Biden and Trump speak on the phone.

About 12:10 a.m., July 14

— Trump's private jet lands at Newark Liberty International Airport.

— Video posted by an aide showed the former president deplaning, flanked by Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counterassault team. It was an unusually visible show of force by his protective detail.

— Trump travels to his private golf club in nearby Bedminster, New Jersey, to spend the night.

July 15

— The FBI says analysts were able to gain access to the shooter’s phone, but the device did not reveal meaningful information about any potential motive.

— The agency has conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement officials, rallygoers and other witnesses, and it has received hundreds of digital media tips.

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Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo in Chicago, Colleen Long in Washington and Martha Bellisle in Seattle contributed to this report.