Trump Calls for Unity After Assassination Attempt
After an attempt on his life that shocked America and leaders from both major political parties, former President Donald Trump on Sunday called for unity.
Trump was showing off a chart of border crossing numbers at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 when gunfire began just after 6:10 p.m. A bullet hit Trump's right ear.
A former fire chief attending the rally with family was killed, as was the gunman. Two others were also critically wounded.
The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, which is about 80 kilometers from the scene of the shooting.
An FBI official said investigators had not yet determined a motive, and Crooks' political leanings were not immediately clear.
The gunman attacked from a high position outside the rally venue at a farm show in Butler, the FBI said.
Not long before the shots began, rally goers noticed a man climbing to the roof of a nearby building and warned local police, according to two law enforcement officials.
A local police officer climbed to the roof and encountered Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer. The officer went back down the ladder, and Crooks quickly fired at Trump. That's when Secret Service officers shot him, said the officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The FBI says it is investigating the shooting as an attempted assassination and also an act of domestic terrorism.
President Joe Biden said he has also directed an independent review of the security at the rally.
Biden spoke briefly on Sunday afternoon and also called for unity, saying: "There's no place in America for this kind of violence."
Many Republicans quickly blamed the violence on Biden and his allies, arguing that constant attacks on Trump as a threat to democracy have created a toxic environment.
However, Mike Kelly, Republican congressman for the area where the shooting occurred, said the American people must "tone it down."
"Quit trying … to blame somebody," he said. "The blame lies somewhere in the psyche of America."
