Trump shooting: Timeline of assassination attempt raises questions about how gunman evaded security

BUTLER, Pa. – On Saturday, July 13, an assassination attempt against former President Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, rocked the nation.

Authorities neutralized the 20-year-old assailant, Thomas Crooks, after shots rang out, and a federal investigation into the shooting targeting the former president ensued. 

Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee’s group of lawmakers who were visibly frustrated by the director’s refusal to answer basic questions about what she admitted was a “failure.” 

Here’s a timeline of events that unfolded before and after July 13:

DISCORD REVEALS DETAILS OF WOULD-BE TRUMP SHOOTER’S ACCOUNT ON PLATFORM

April through July

Crooks conducts online searches for campaign events for both President Biden and former President Trump

July 4

Crooks searches details of Trump’s campaign event in Butler.

July 5

U.S. Secret Service (USSS) first notifies the Butler County Emergency Services Unit (ESU) of the July 13 Trump rally.

July 6

Crooks conducts the following internet searches:

• “how far was Oswald from Kennedy,”
• “where will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show,”
• “Butler Farm Show podium,” and
• “Butler Farm Show photos.”

July 7

Crooks visits rally site and spends about 20 minutes there in what the FBI believes is early surveillance.

July 8

Secret Service acting Director Ronald Rowe said that personnel with the agency’s Pittsburgh Field Office conducted planning meetings and a site walk-through with local law enforcement and Trump campaign staff. 

Crooks searches “AGR international,” the name of the company that owns the building he would eventually climb and shoot from.

July 9

Crooks searches “ballistic calculator.”

July 10

The USSS conducts a site visit at the rally grounds three days before Trump’s visit, according to Rowe.

Crooks searches “weather in Butler.”

July 12

Crooks goes to Clairton Sportsmen’s Club to practice shooting, the FBI said. He practices with what is believed to be the weapon he ends up using for the assassination attempt.

The build-out of the campaign rally site begins and continues through the early morning hours of July 13.

July 13, 9 a.m.

The Butler Emergency Services Unit (ESU) hosts a briefing with the local SWAT and sniper units from Butler County, Beaver County and Washington County providing security. During the briefing, they show a 46-slide presentation that outlines which law enforcement unit is responsible for covering which areas of the rally and staging and sniper areas.

Federal law enforcement apparently does not attend the briefing, according to Sen. Ron Johnson’s office. 

Acting USSS Director Ronald Rowe will later reveal that Secret Service personnel took their posts and a technical security sweep of the site commenced prior to the site’s opening to event staff, vendors and the public.

July 13, 9:27 a.m. to 9:42 a.m.

Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks stops at a Home Depot alone in his hometown of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

He purchases a 5 foot, 5 inch aluminum dual platform ladder and exits the Home Depot parking lot in a vehicle, Johnson’s office said.

July 13, 10 a.m.

Two local law enforcement snipers are on the second floor of the American Glass Research (AGR) building that Crooks apparently shot from, Johnson’s office said.

July 13, 10 a.m.

Crooks visits the rally site and spends about 70 minutes there before heading home, the FBI said.

July 13, 12:30 p.m.

The Secret Service opens the protective site to event staff and vendors. 

Magnetometer screening of the estimated 15,000 people attending the campaign rally and event staff and vendors begins around 1 p.m.

July 13, 1:30 p.m.

Crooks tells his parents he is heading to a nearby shooting range, according to the FBI. His father gave him a rifle for the purpose, he believed, of returning to the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club.

About 25 minutes later, Crooks buys ammunition, the FBI said.

At some point, Crooks’ parents contact law enforcement on Saturday, hours before he opened fire on former President Trump, a source later told Fox News Digital. 

The aspiring assassin’s mother and father tell local police Crooks was missing and that they were concerned about his welfare, according to the source.

It remains unclear if they knew that he was in possession of an AR-15 rifle that belonged to his father.

July 13, 3:50 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Crooks flies a drone over the rally site, about 200 yards from where Trump will speak, for 11 minutes, between 3:51 p.m. and 4:02 p.m.

He then leaves in his vehicle.

The FBI will later reveal that no photos or videos were taken from the drone and that the agency found no memory card in the drone, but he was livestreaming at the time and would have been able to view it on his controller.

July 13, 4:26 p.m.

Iron Clad USA, a vendor at the rally, unknowingly records a video of Crooks walking outside the rally perimeter by a row of vendors at 4:26 p.m. on July 13, about an hour and a half before Trump began speaking.

A countersniper leaving his position on the second floor of a warehouse overlooking the rally site because his shift is ending notices a young man sitting at a picnic table and texts other countersnipers still in the building, alerting them to the man, according to Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office.

July 13, 5:04 p.m.

Crooks is seen on video walking to the AGR building. 

July 13, 5:10 p.m.

Other law enforcement officers spot Crooks, who is identified as a “suspicious person of interest” at the rally, about an hour before Trump walked up to the podium, the FBI director said during a July 17 congressional briefing.

Local law enforcement notifies command about Crooks and receives confirmation that the Secret Service was aware of his presence.

Law enforcement officers then identify a building of interest while assessing the area and realized the building was outside the perimeter for rally security.

July 13, 5:14 p.m.

A sniper at the AGR building (AGR sniper 1) takes pictures of Crooks.

July 13, 5:28 p.m. – 5:41 p.m.

Former President Trump arrives at the campaign rally site via Secret Service motorcade at approximately 5:30 p.m. The Secret Service said he met with supporters in a secure backstage area within the protective site prior to getting on stage.

AGR sniper 1 takes a picture of a bicycle and what appears to be two bags located near the AGR building. It is unclear what happened to the bicycle and bags after July 13, 2024.

The same sniper spots Crooks looking at his phone and a range finder. At 5:38 p.m., the sniper then sends a message to the “Sniper Group” regarding the suspicious person, later identified as Crooks, according to Johnson’s office.

At 5:45 p.m., Rowe said, the Butler ESU counter-sniper texts the Secret Service counter-sniper team leader about a suspicious person and sends two photos of the individual, later identified as Crooks.

“They identified Crooks for not matriculating,” Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris said during a July 24 hearing. “Crooks never made it through the secure perimeter into the venue space itself.”

AGR sniper 1 is told to “call into command,” which the sniper does and then provides a description of the suspicious person and range finder. The sniper said the suspicious person was “lurking around [the] AGR building,” Johnson’s office said.

“There was a text thread that was going,” Paris said. “They took a photo of him at some point when he utilized the range finger. The suspicion was heightened … I know from an interview that was immediately relayed in the command post to the Secret Service.”

July 13, 5:52 p.m.

Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who was briefed on the assassination attempt, said a sniper “had eyes on” the suspicious person about 20 minutes before Crooks began firing.

WATCH: PA RALLY ATTENDEES TRY TO ALERT OFFICERS TO SHOOTER

Paris confirmed this on July 24, saying the sniper took a photo of the person and sent it to a “Sniper Group” chat. 

At 5:53 p.m., according to Rowe, the Secret Service countersniper team leader texts the Secret Service countersniper teams that local law enforcement officers are looking for a suspicious person “lurking around the AGR building.”

Secret Service personnel operate with knowledge that local officers are working on an issue with a suspicious person.

July 13, 5:56 p.m.

Crooks is spotted carrying a backpack near the AGR building. 

The FBI said Crooks climbed the AGR building using HVAC/piping to get on the roof. He also jumped on other rooftops to get into final position to take his shots.

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.

Neither Secret Service countersniper teams nor members of Trump’s security detail know about a man on the roof of the AGR building with a firearm.

Minutes later, some rally attendees start pointing toward someone with a rifle on a nearby rooftop, according to witness accounts and video footage from the event.

July 13, 6:02 p.m. to 6:08 p.m.

Law enforcement officers lose sight of Crooks and try to locate him, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate tells members of Congress July 30. 

At 6:06 p.m., video from a local business shows the shooter pulling himself up onto the AGR roof, Abbate says.

July 13, 6:08 p.m.

Crooks is spotted traversing across the roof of the AGR building.

July 13, 6:11 p.m.

A local police officer is lifted up to view the AGR building rooftop by another officer, sees the shooter and radios that he is armed with a long gun.

Meanwhile, a member of Trump’s protective detail contacts a Pittsburgh Field Office counterpart to inquire about a radio update that there was an issue local officers were looking into near the perimeter.

Crooks releases a first volley of three shots, and within three seconds, the former president’s detail rushed to the stage and shielded Trump. The former president holds a hand up to his ear and then ducks for cover. USSS agents surround him on stage.

Some attendees think the shots are fireworks or firecrackers. It takes a minute for everyone to realize they need to get down. One woman screams.

Over the next several seconds, five more shots ring out. 

Gunshots ring out from the direction of the person on the rooftop for about 26 seconds. 

WATCH:

July 13, 6:12 p.m.

USSS agents can be overheard working to target the shooter, using code names and firing in specific directions. The shooter is lying on a nearby rooftop, about 150 yards from where Trump is speaking, with an AR-15. 

A Secret Service countersniper shoots and kills Crooks approximately 15½ seconds after his first shot. The countersniper shoots one bullet, striking Crooks in the head. A local police officer also fires a round that does not hit Crooks.

The FBI will later say Crooks fired eight rounds before he was neutralized. 

A source familiar with the investigation into the shooting will later say the Secret Service sniper got a “one-in-a-million” shot. The sniper could only see Crooks’ gun scope and the top of his eye and forehead because of the lip of the roof blocking his view. 

The Butler County Coroner’s Office would later determine that Crooks’ cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and sends his body to the Allegheny County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy. 

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.

USSS agents move Trump off the stage and into a security vehicle. Photographers capture blood smeared across the former president’s face after his ear was nicked by what will later be confirmed to be a bullet. His motorcade prepares to travel out of the venue and to a nearby hospital.

July 13, 6:40 p.m. to 6:50 p.m.

USSS Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi releases an official statement saying an “incident occurred the evening of July 13 at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.”

“The Secret Service has implemented protective measures and the former President is safe. This is now an active Secret Service investigation and further information will be released when available,” the statement says.

The Trump campaign releases a statement saying the former president “thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act.’

“He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow,” the statement adds.

July 13, 7:40 p.m. to 8:50 p.m.

Trump is hospitalized, and Donald Trump Jr. informs the media his father is doing well.

President Biden issues a statement saying he has been briefed “on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania.”

“I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally as we await further information,” Biden says. “Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”

USSS issues an updated statement saying a shooter “fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue” around 6:15 p.m.

“U.S. Secret Service personnel neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased,” the statement says. “U.S. Secret Service quickly responded with protective measures and Former President Trump is safe. One spectator was killed, and two spectators were critically injured. This incident is currently under investigation, and the Secret Service has notified the FBI.”

Biden’s campaign announces it will remove TV ads as quickly as possible after the assassination attempt against Trump.

July 13, 9 p.m. to midnight

The FBI announces that a team is traveling to Butler to conduct an assassination investigation. 

Trump issues a statement for the first time since he was struck earlier in the evening, thanking the “United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured,” Trump says. “It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. 

“Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my 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. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

The Secret Service confirms one fatality and that two others were injured during the rally.

BIDEN SPOKE WITH TRUMP FOLLOWING SHOOTING AT PENNSYLVANIA RALLY

A bomb squad investigates a suspicious vehicle near the location the assassination attempt in Butler.

July 14

Trump is seen for the first time since the shooting departing a plane early Sunday morning.

SHOOTING AT TRUMP RALLY BEING INVESTIGATED AS ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

The FBI officially identifies the shooter as Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about an hour from Butler, south of Pittsburgh.

Crooks is a registered Republican in Allegheny County and donated $15 to a Chicago-based Democratic PAC in 2021.

Biden delivers remarks following the assassination attempt.

HOW SECRET SERVICE PROTOCOL HAS CHANGED AMID PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS THROUGH THE YEARS

Trump tells the New York Post, “I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead.”

“The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this. He called it a miracle,” Trump tells the newspaper onboard his private plane while heading to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention. “By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here.”

Biden speaks to the American public that evening from the Oval Office.

WATCH:

“My fellow Americans, I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics,” Biden says. “Do remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies. We’re neighbors, we’re friends, coworkers, citizens and, most importantly, we are fellow Americans. We must stand together.”

Biden adds he is “grateful” Trump is “doing well” and says he is keeping the former president “and his family in our prayers.” He also extends his “deepest condolences” to Comperatore’s family.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE IDENTIFY VICTIMS SHOT DURING ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP

Sources confirm to Fox News that authorities found explosives, including an IED, inside a car driven by Crooks found parked near the location of the rally Saturday.

WOULD-BE TRUMP ASSASSIN HAD EXPLOSIVES IN CAR PARKED NEAR RALLY, BOMB-MAKING MATERIALS AT HOME: SOURCES

The USSS holds a press briefing at Centennial Hall in Milwaukee ahead of the Republican National Convention.

July 15

A federal source familiar with security plans for Saturday’s Trump rally in Butler tells Fox News local law enforcement was tasked with overseeing the building where Crooks fired several shots at the former president.

The building Crooks fired from was a “rally point” for one of the local countersniper teams, according to the source, who also pointed out that team was actually stationed in, or near, the building. There were four countersniper teams at the rally, two from the Secret Service and two from local law enforcement.

Cheatle releases a statement extending her “deepest condolences to the family and friends of Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, as well as those who were injured during this senseless act of violence.

“Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our countersniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former president Donald Trump,” Cheatle says.

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July 16

Cheatle tells ABC News law enforcement identified a person of interest prior to the assassination attempt. The comment comes hours after Fox News Digital reported that a local law enforcement officer spotted a suspicious man carrying a range finder just 30 minutes before Saturday’s attempted assassination in Butler. 

“I’m being told that the shooter was actually identified as a potential person of suspicion. Units started responding to seek that individual out,” Cheatle tells ABC News. “Unfortunately, with the rapid succession of how things unfolded, by the time that individual was eventually located, they were on the rooftop and were able to fire off at the former president.” 

Cheatle also says there were no snipers stationed on the roof from which Crooks fired because it was sloped and posed a security risk. The comment draws scathing criticism. 

Fox News learns of a joint intelligence bulletin from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warning of potential repeat attacks and retaliation following the shooting of former President Trump.

The four-page bulletin, first reported by Politico, states that violent extremists or others “may attempt follow-on or retaliatory acts of violence” in response to the attempt on Trump’s life, according to the outlet.

An FBI source tells Fox, “We continue to face very real threats from those who seek to undermine our elections. The FBI remains vigilant in our efforts to detect and assess possible threats and, as always, we encourage the public to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety.”

Butler Township Manager Thomas Knights defends local police officers’ response to the assassination attempt.

WATCH: BUTLER TOWNSHIP MANAGER GIVES DETAILS ON OFFICER’S ENCOUNTER WITH SHOOTER

Knights’ comments come amid some sparring between the USSS and the Fraternal Order of Police as both federal and local law enforcement take criticism from the public for being unable to stop the would-be Trump assassin before he fired. Knights says that tension has not “spilled over into” Butler.

“I think there’s some misconception about overall response. I can only speak for our officers transitioning from what was supposed to be a primary traffic control assistance to where it became … a suspicious person,” the township manager, who supervises all Butler department heads, including the police chief, tells Fox News Digital. 

“I think our law enforcement did exactly what training taught them to do. … How subsequent events played out, that’s another thing for what I hope to be a really complete report on the incident to educate everybody.” 

July 17

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general opens an investigation into the Secret Service’s handling of security for former President Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania.

Questions remain about the shooter’s motives and how he got on top of a building near Trump’s rally.

Cheatle tells CNN the Secret Service was “solely responsible” for security at Trump’s rally, appearing to backtrack on previous claims that local law enforcement was tasked with observing the building. 

The FBI briefs congressional leaders, sharing that Crooks conducted internet searches related to both Trump and President Biden, the dates of the Democratic National Convention and major depressive disorder. It was also disclosed that Crooks visited the rally site at least once prior to the shooting and had more than 14,000 pictures on his phone.

A group of senators confront Cheatle at the RNC demanding explanations for the security failures, but she refuses to engage them. Amid growing calls for her resignation, Cheatle says she will not step down.

July 18

A USSS source tells Fox News that Crooks hid his weapon in advance of the shooting.

It was not immediately clear where he hid it, but by the time agents spotted him on the roof, he was already holding it.

“We went from golf range finder to AR-15, and now we have to fill in the gap,” a source tells Fox News.

July 19

Family and friends of Corey Comperatore gather at Cabot United Methodist Church to honor the fallen firefighter, husband and father at a funeral service.

Butler County residents line rural roads from the church to the cemetery, waving American flags and watching fire trucks from dozens of Pennsylvania counties travel by before and after the funeral.

July 22

Cheatle opens her testimony at the House Oversight Committee by admitting that the agency failed. 

“The assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13 is the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades, and I am keeping him and his family in my thoughts,” she says.

“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed as a director of the United States Secret Service. As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency.”

She promises to “move heaven and earth” to ensure an incident like this never happens again. After delivering her remarks, members of Congress grill her on the July 13 failures. 

Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., asks Cheatle about one of her previous statements that an agent wasn’t positioned on the roof because it was sloped.

“We are still looking into responsibilities and who was going to provide overwatch,” or protection against rooftop snipers, Cheatle says. “But the Secret Service, in general, not speaking specifically to this incident, when we are providing overwatch, whether that be through countersnipers or other technology, prefer to have sterile rooftops.”

Cheatle is not able or willing to answer many questions posed to her, including why an agent wasn’t stationed on the roof, how many times the Trump team made a request for extra security and whether agents confronted Crooks before he opened fire.

July 23

Cheatle resigns from her position as USSS director.

“To the Men and Women of the U.S. Secret Service, The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,” Cheatle wrote in a letter to the agency obtained by Fox News. “On July 13th, we fell short on that mission.”

TRUMP SHOOTING SITE GIVES BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF ‘DISORGANIZED’ RALLY SCENE, WITNESSES SAY

Cheatle said the “scrutiny” over the last week “has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases.” 

July 24

When asked before the House Judiciary Committee if investigators determined whether Crooks took the gun up with him to the rooftop or if he had already placed it there somewhere, FBI Director Wray says Crooks had a collapsible stock, “which could explain why it might have been less easy for people to observe.”

WATCH:

“The first people to observe him with the weapon were when he was already on the roof. And we haven’t yet found anybody with firsthand observation of him with the weapon walking around beforehand. So, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t, obviously. But the collapsible stock is potentially a very significant feature that might be relevant to that.”

Wray says even though Crooks did buy a ladder before the shooting, a ladder was not found at the rally site. Authorities later found the ladder that was left near his home 50 miles from the site of the shooting.

“So, it’s not clear that he used the ladder to get on top of the roof,” he says.

Wray later says officials “believe that the subject climbed onto the roof using some mechanical equipment on the ground. And vertical piping on the side of the AGR building. In other words, we do not believe he used a ladder to get up there.”  Wray says investigators have not found any evidence that Crooks had any accomplices or co-conspirators.

July 30

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. testifies before the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Government Affairs committees about the attempted assassination.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked how it was possible Trump was allowed on stage 17 minutes after reports of a suspicious person.

“No information regarding a weapon on the roof was ever passed to our personnel,” Rowe said.

“How is that even possible?” Lee asked.

That information was “in local law enforcement channels but did not cross over and make it to Secret Service awareness,” Rowe responded.

“I think that they were in the midst of dealing with a very critical situation, and they articulated that over the radio, as I understand it. However, it was never relayed over to us.”

Fox News’ Chris Eberhart, Jake Gibson, David Spunt, Greg Norman, Michael Ruiz, Anders Hagstrom and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.