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A timeline of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump

Secret Service personnel move former President Donald Trump from the podium after shots rang out during his rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at a campaign rally on July 13 at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Connoquenessing Township.

Corey Comperatore, a former Buffalo Township fire chief attending the rally with family was killed, as was the gunman.

Three other people, including Trump were struck by bullets. David Dutch, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, of Moon Township, were critically wounded. Dutch has been discharged from the hospital, while Copenhaver is in stable but serious condition. Trump’s right ear was grazed in the incident.

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

Based on those findings, below is the timeline of the shooting that day:

Earlier in the day, July 13

— Officials say the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks bought 50 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition for his AK-15-style rifle in Bethel Park and drove north to Butler County

— 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 take notice of the man with a backpack and a range finder. They radio their concerns and snap 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 see 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 Butler Township officer attempts to climb to the roof, according to Butler Township manager, Tom Knights and Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe.

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

— The officer loses his grip and was not retreating when he fell 8 feet to the ground, according to Knights.

— The roof where Crooks lay was an estimated 147 yards from where Trump was speaking.

6:11 p.m.

— Trump continues his speech and turns 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.

— Eight shots are fired, according to FBI testimony.

— 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.

— Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief attending the rally, is shot and killed. 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 are seriously 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 suffer 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 Butler Memorial 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 wrote.

— 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 shows 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, N.J., to spend the night.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is moved from the stage at a campaign rally on July 13 in Butler County. Associated Press
People react during a campaign rally with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler County. Associated press
Pennsylvania State Troopers guard the entrance to Butler Memorial Hospital, Saturday, July 13, 2024, where Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was said to be taken after shots were fired at a campaign rally in Butler County. Associated Press
The Butler Farm Show grounds in Connoquenessing Township is seen from above on July 15. Associated Press

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