A timeline of events from Saturday, July 13, when a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Trump at his rally in Butler, PA, until Monday, July 15.
– On Saturday, July 13, an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, rocked the nation.
Authorities neutralized the assailant after shots rang out, and a federal investigation into the shooting targeting the former president ensued.
Here’s a timeline of the events that have unfolded since Friday:July 13, 5:10 p.m.
Thomas Matthew Crooks is first seen on the rally grounds, and he became a « suspicious person of interest » at the rally, about an hour before Trump walked up to the podium, the FBI director said during Wednesday’s Congressional briefing, a lawmaker told Fox News Digital under the condition of anonymity.
Law enforcement officers then identified a building of interest while assessing the area and realized the building was outside the perimeter for rally security.
WATCH: PA RALLY ATTENDEES TRY TO ALERT OFFICERS TO SHOOTERJuly 13, 5:30 p.m.
Law enforcement officers spot Crooks with a backpack and golf rangefinder, the FBI director said, according to the lawmaker.July 13, 5:52 p.m.
The Secret Service locates Crooks on the roof of a building about 150 yards from the podium where Trump was set to address the crowd, the lawmaker said.July 13, 6 p.m.
Trump walks up to his podium at the Butler Farm Show just after 6 p.m. and speaks to a crowd standing on all sides of him.
Minutes later, some rally attendees start pointing toward someone on a nearby rooftop with a rifle, according to witness accounts and video footage from the event.
A local law enforcement officer climbs onto the roof and sees Crooks with a rifle, sources told Fox News. Crooks points the gun at the officer, who falls back, a source said.July 13, 6:12 p.m.
Gunshots ring out from the direction of the person on the rooftop for about 26 seconds before the shooter is « neutralized. »
WATCH:
The former president holds a hand up to his ear and then ducks for cover. Secret Service agents surround him on stage.
Some attendees think the shots are fireworks or firecrackers; it takes a minute for everyone to register that they need to get down. One woman screams.July 13, 6:12 p.m.
Secret Service agents can be overheard working to target the shooter, using code names and firing off specific directions. The shooter is lying on a nearby rooftop, about 150 yards from where Trump is speaking, with an AR-15.
Agents quickly shoot the assailant, Crooks, killing him on the spot.
« Shooter’s down », one agent says.
Unbeknownst to some in the crowd, one man — 50-year-old Corey Comperatore — is fatally shot while protecting his wife and daughters from gunfire. Two others, 57-yer-old David Dutch of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and 74-year-old James Copenhaver of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, are critically wounded.July 13, 6:13 p.m. to 6:20 p.m.
Secret Service agents move Trump off stage and into a security vehicle. His motorcade prepares to drive out of the venue and to a nearby hospital.
Rally attendees begin to register what has happened and prepare to move out of the venue, some still unsure if the shooter is down or if others will be targeted. A sense of calm washes over the crowd, which remains relatively quiet and poised even as people are trying to exit the area.
Locals living around the event area who heard the gunfire begin to shelter in place or evacuate their homes, unaware if the gunfire was a mass-shooting incident or if the shooter or shooters are still in the area.July 13, 6:40 p.m. to 6:50 p.m.
Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi releases an official statement saying an « incident occurred the evening of July 13 at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.
