Donald Trump’s Secret Service protection under investigation following assassination attempt

A GoFundMe page to help wounded victims or the family of those killed during the attempted assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Penn., last Saturday has already surpassed $5 million, more than quintupling the desired $1 million goal.

Here's the fundraising link.

"President Donald Trump has authorized this account as a place for donations to the supporters and families wounded or killed in today’s brutal and horrific assassination attempt. All donations will be directed to these proud Americans as they grieve and recover. May God bless and unite our nation," it reads on the fundraising page.

Trump was shot and wounded in his ear during an outdoor rally on Saturday. Secret Service killed the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Trump walked away with his injury, but firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed during the incident.

The family of a mother of five who was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant slammed the Biden administration on Tuesday night for having "opened our borders" to the man accused of killing her.

Michael Morin, the brother of Rachel Morin, spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Morin was killed in August after going out for a jog on a trail near her home in Maryland. Police found her body in a culvert, covered in bruises and with severe head trauma.

"Rachel, a joyful, accomplished athlete and mother of five was raped and murdered by a suspected illegal immigrant," Michael Morin told the crowd at the Republican National Convention. "This was described as among the most brutal and violent offenses that has ever occurred in Harford County, Maryland history."

Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, 23, faces a half-dozen charges, including first-degree murder, rape, and kidnapping, in connection with Rachel Morin's death. Officials said Martinez Hernandez, who has suspected gang ties, fled his home country in February 2023 after a warrant was issued for the murder of a woman there.

He made three unsuccessful attempts to enter the United States before making it across the border on Feb. 13, 2023 near El Paso, Texas, authorities said.

Rachel’s brother slammed those who advocate for open borders.

"Open borders are often portrayed as compassionate and virtuous. But there is nothing compassionate about allowing violent criminals into our country and robbing children of their mother," he said.

He then criticized the Biden administration for its policies at the border.

"Joe Biden and his designated border czar Kamala Harris opened our borders to him and others like him, empowering them to victimize the innocent," he said.

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Shocking cellphone video shows chaos at the Butler Farm Saturday after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on a Pennsylvania Trump rally, injuring the former president, killing one spectator and critically wounding two more.

The video shows ducking spectators flagging authorities for help after the gunfire stops.

"We've got someone down," a man can be heard shouting as he waves his arms. "Hey!"

The camera pans toward the stage, as Trump returns to his feet, flanked by Secret Service agents, and raises a fist.

Todd, the Army veteran who took the video and asked to be identified only as Todd the Driller, said he initially offered to bring his son to the rally but was concerned the crowd might be too boisterous.

He said he was relieved when the 9-year-old wanted to back out. But then both the boy and his 12-year-old daughter asked for Trump campaign hats, so he wound up attending alone.

Todd arrived early and called his kids on FaceTime from a row of vendors. They chose their hats. He bought them. Then he made his way toward the stage.

The rally started late, he said, but by the time Trump arrived, he had a good vantage point near the north fence.

He had been taking pictures and videos to send his son, but when the gunfire erupted, his phone was in his pocket and he was listening to Trump's remarks.

"I had no idea I was in the lane of fire between the shooter and President Trump, but when I heard the crack-crack-crack, I knew what that was," he said. "It was directly behind me, and bullets whizzed like maybe 20 feet to my left."

Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

A 3D animation shows the grounds and surrounding buildings where a would-be assassin shot former President Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Despite sniper teams stationed on the rooftop behind Trump, the would-be assassin -- later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks -- managed to evade authorities and climb onto the roof of a building on the outer perimeter of the rally grounds, roughly 150 yards from where Trump was speaking.

The U.S. Secret Service has faced scrutiny in the days following the assassination attempt for not taking out the shooter sooner.

USSS Director told ABC News Tuesday that personnel were not positioned on top of the building where the Trump rally shooter opened fire because of a "sloped roof," despite images showing snipers set up on a sloped roof behind the former president’s podium. 

A former senior Homeland Security official and FBI agent is calling for a bipartisan commission to be formed to investigate the assassination attempt on former President Trump, arguing the public has lost trust in the federal agencies.

Mark Morgan most recently served as acting head of Customs and Border Protection under the Trump administration and also had a 20-year career with the FBI, including as a former SWAT operator and tactical instructor, and with the FBI’s critical incident response group.

He spoke to Fox News Digital Tuesday about the ongoing reviews of Saturday's assassination attempt.

"Here's the reality that we have to face for those of us who were past and even those that are currently involved in these agencies. … America's trust in the Department of Justice, the FBI, Congress, it has dropped precipitously the past few years. That's just the reality," Morgan said.

Read more about the interview with Morgan.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the lower chamber is conducting an "immediate" and "thorough" invesitgation of the attemtped assassination of former President Trump over the weekend at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"And that work has already begun," Johnson said in his RNC speech Tuesday night. "The American people deserve to know the truth and we will ensure accountability. I promise you that, I promise you that."

"This has always been an important principle to us. We in the Republican Party, are the law and order team. We always have been and we always will be the advocates for the rule of law," he added.

On Monday, Fox News' Chad Pergram reported that the House Oversight Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee were expected to receive virtual briefings on Tuesday about the assassination attempt.

Also on Tuesday, House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., invited Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray to testify on July 23 "to examine the facts and circumstances" surrounding the shooting, according to a news release.

In the aftermath of the event that nearly killed the former president and claimed the life of a one civilian, questions continue to be raised about how the gunman evaded security.

Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., is calling on U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign from her post, following the failed detail that was in place when a man attempted to assassinate former President Trump.

Cheatle acknowledged during an interview with ABC News on Monday that "the Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president," adding, "the buck stops with me."

"The responsibility of the Secret Service is to make sure that that venue was safe," Harris told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "Obviously, this venue was not safe. Obviously, they didn't have adequate communication with the local law enforcement. And the buck does stop with her. She should take full responsibility, and that's why I've asked that she tender her resignation."

Harris is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, which is responsible for funding the operations of the Secret Service.

Read more about why Harris is calling Cheatle to resign. 

The National Fraternal Order of Police on Tuesday accused the U.S. Secret Service of making “contradictory statements” concerning its role in coordinating security for former President Trump’s Pennsylvania rally on Saturday where a 20-year-old would-be assassin made an attempt on his life.

Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, highlighted remarks USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle made during an interview with ABC News.

Cheatle told ABC News correspondent Pierre Thomas during a live interview that the Secret Service was responsible for the “inner perimeter” of the site where Trump held a rally. She said the Secret Service sought assistance from local law enforcement for the outer perimeter where the building on which the would-be assassin fired upon Trump from a roof was located.

“There was local police in that building – there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building,” Cheatle said.

The day after her ABC News interview, the USSS wrote on X that “Any news suggesting the Secret Service is blaming local law enforcement for Saturday’s incident is simply note true.”

“I am having difficulty reconciling the answer the Director gave in her ABC interview with the official statement made on social media,” Yoes said in a statement. “Our goal is to provide whatever assistance the Secret Service needs to perform their mission and to do so with mutual respect, trust, and accuracy.” 

Cellphone video taken on Saturday shows panicked Trump rally attendees pointing at shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks and yelling to alert police as he shimmied across a roof and into position minutes before he fired.

Video from the scene appears to show attendees trying to alert authorities to the shooter's presence 86 seconds before Crooks fired.

In other footage taken of the incident, people were seen running from the area about 15 seconds before shots were fired, while others were heard yelling that the man on the roof had a gun.

"Look, they're all pointing," the man shooting the video can be heard saying. "There he is right there. Right there, you see him? He's laying down, you see him? What's happening."

"He's on the roof," another woman can be heard yelling. "Right here."

Read more about the moments leading up to the attempted assassination.

Fox News’ Christina Coulter contributed to this report.

Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone told “Your World with Neil Cavuto” Tuesday that the attempt on Donald Trump's life on Saturday marked the beginning of an opportunity for the former president “to carve a very significant place in history.”

Langone acknowledged that he had had reservations about Trump but hoped that the former president would spread a message of unity after surviving the assassination attempt.

“I’m hoping and I’m expecting that he’s going to preach unity and come together and all the greatness of America when we come together for a cause,” Langone said. “When America puts itself together for something, nothing stops us.”

Langone compared Trump’s defiance on Saturday to World War II General Anthony McAuliffe.

“If I was virtually damn near dead – that close – I’d have been pleading, ‘get me out of here, get me out of here, get me out of here!’ It was exactly the opposite he wanted to go back to the podium,” Langone said.

What Trump did on Saturday, Langone said, “is the beginning of an opportunity for him to carve a very significant place in history.” 

A Lake Worth Beach, Florida bar removed a controversial sign that made a joke out of the attempted assassination of former President Trump, days after taking heat from the public, according to reports.

A local NBC station in West Palm Beach reported that the sign outside of Harry’s Banana Farm read, “How do you miss a head that’s that inflated?” poking fun at Saturday’s assassination attempt on Trump.

"You know, that sign is meant to be humorous, and I thought it was just another humorous sign but apparently it struck a nerve," Harry's Banana Farm general manager Lou De Stout told the station.

He also said whatever he posts on the sign is free speech.

De Stout told the station he tries to put a topical and humorous message on marquee using 10 words or less, oftentimes using the hot topic of the time.

Knowing everyone would be talking about the attempted assassination of Trump, he said, he decided to reference the shooting on the public-facing sign.

In less than 24 hours, he said his bar received multiple threats for violence and arson, with some calling on the owner to shut down the establishment.

De Stout also reportedly said he received countless negative Yelp reviews.

"After a while, I thought ... I can't have my staff being threatened for the things that I do, it's not fair to them," De Stout told the station. "Some of them are young girls. They have young kids, and it's a great staff here and I didn't want to put them in harm's way."

His sign now reportedly reads, “Yeah, for Trump, so happy for him, you crazy bastards happy.”

The Biden administration declined to provide security for former President Trump’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien for nearly a year despite behind-the-scenes pressure, according an exclusive Wall Street Journal report published Tuesday.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, wrote two letters to President Biden over the past year requesting that the administration reinstate O’Brien’s Secret Service protective detail which ended in August of last year, The Journal reported.

“It is a dangerous precedent to set, to not extend a former National Security Advisor’s protective detail while there are active threats against his life, especially in a growing threat environment,” Turner wrote in a Jan. 30 letter.

In another letter from June 21, 2023, Turner wrote that “Ambassador O’Brien both needs and deserves a protective detail for his service to this country.”

The need for security for officials has been heightened in recent days following the assassination attempt on former President Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The family of James Copenhaver, one of two victims injured during an assassination attempt on former President Trump over the weekend, has issued a statement to the press.

“The Copenhaver family would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support for James ‘Jim’ as he recovers from the injuries that he tragically sustained during President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024,” the statement read. “Jim would like to especially thank the first responders, medics, and hospital staff who have provided him with initial and continuing care.”

The messaged continued: “Additionally, Jim would like to express his thoughts and prayers for the other victims, their families, and President Trump. He prays for a safe and speedy recovery for them all. At this time, the Copenhaver family would kindly request that friends, the public, and the media respect the family’s privacy and allow for Jim to recover from the life-altering injuries that he sustained on July 13, 2024.”

The family said it would not be making any additional statements, directing further inquiries to the Law Offices of Max C. Feldman and with the legal representative’s approval to Dan Laurent with Allegheny Health Network.

The family said James Copenhaver remains in critical but stable condition as of 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-Il., says there will be an “unclassified, all-senators call” at 3 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the assassination attempt on former President Trump over the weekend.

Briefers from the Justice Department, U.S. Secret Service, and the FBI will be on the call, according to Schumer’s office.

Fox News is also told that efforts are underway to hold a briefing for House lawmakers as well on Wednesday.

These briefings will be virtual and not available to the public. They come as few lawmakers are on Capitol Hill.

Details are starting to emerge about the family of Thomas Crooks, the man who attempted to assassinate former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, including his sister, who works as both a school janitor and a server at a restaurant, according to reports.

The New York Post reported that some of the Crooks’ neighbors, who live on the same street, provided insight into the family of the would-be assassin.

One neighbor described Crooks’ sister, Katie Crooks, as a “hardworking” woman who worked two jobs and moved into an apartment in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania with the help of Thomas Crooks nearly three years ago.

“The person who helped her, I couldn’t tell if it was a male or a female,” the Post learned from the neighbor. “A couple of days later I asked if it was one of her siblings and she said it was her brother. The one who shot Trump… He was real scrawny.”

As for the father, Matthew Brian Crooks, the neighbor told the Post he drove the moving truck and appeared to be too heavy to assist with the move. Instead, the neighbor said, Thomas helped his sister.

But the neighbor could not say much about Thomas Crooks.

Still, the neighbor called Katie Crooks a “real go-getter,” the Post reported, who worked at a high school as a janitor, and as a server at a restaurant.

“She’s real friendly,” the neighbor told the Post, of the registered Republican. “She’s a nice girl. I couldn’t say a bad word about her.”

The Butler County Sheriff tells Fox News his office has received multiple threats in the days since the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Sheriff Michael Slupe’s name has been in the news after he confirmed to multiple news agencies that a Butler Township Police officer confronted Thomas Crooks on the rooftop but dropped off after Crooks pointed his gun at him.

“I am in charge of the Deputy Sheriffs and no other law enforcement agency,” Sheriff Slupe told Fox News, while also defending his people. “My Deputies performed their duties at their assigned areas and went above and beyond after the shooting started…to help people and assist police in clearing the nearby buildings.”

Sheriff Slupe said he wasn’t in charge of the AGR building on which the would-be assassin fired his weapon. He said it wasn’t his decision to have local law enforcement responsible for the building in question. All those decisions were made, he said, by the U.S. Secret Service.

Secret Service sources have confirmed that local law enforcement officers were stationed inside the AGR building while Crooks was on the roof. During an interview with ABC News Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said a decision was made not to put officers on the roof it was sloped “at its highest point.”

“And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn't want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” Cheatle said.

Multiple law enforcement experts have Fox News that it is ultimately the USSS’ decision whether a particular building is put within the security perimeter. The Secret Service also makes the final call on how to protect a building that has a sightline to a protectee.

This post is based on reporting by Fox News' Jake Gibson and David Spunt.

Donald Trump on Tuesday called the family of the man who was killed during an assassination attempt on the former president during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, a source confirmed to Fox News.

Trump called the wife of Corey Comperatore to express his “deepest condolences,” Fox News is told.

Comperatore was killed after hearing gunfire erupt during Trump’s rally on Saturday and dove to cover his wife and daughter.

A 50-year-old former fire chief, Comperatore leaves behind a wife and daughter.

This post is based on reporting by Fox News' Alexis McAdams.

Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., said the Select Committee investigation into a failed Secret Service detail at a rally for former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, that nearly led to his death, “must go forward.”

Zinke said in a post on X that as a former Navy SEAL, he has set up perimeters for U.S. and European heads of State. He also said he is a former protectee.

With those credentials, Zinke said he could say “without a doubt” that the Select Committee to investigate failures of security and the attempted assassination of Trump “must go forward.”

“While other bodies carry out their inquiries, it is critical for the integrity of the investigation and the trust of the American people that a commission made up of select members of the House, Senate, White House and Supreme Court is empowered with the same – if not more – rights and access to information as the 9/11 Commission,” Zinke wrote. “Many Americans rightfully do not trust the same agency that has been politically investigating and harassing Trump with investigating his near death.”

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., has issued a subpoena for U.S. Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle to testify before lawmakers after the assassination attempt on former President Trump on Saturday.

Fox News’ congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports that Comer has issued a subpoena for Cheatle to appear before house lawmakers next Monday.

An Oversight Committee spokesperson said a subpoena would “head off any attempt by [the Department of Homeland Security] to backtrack from her appearance on Monday,” Pergram said on “The Story with Martha MacCallum” Tuesday.

He noted that communication between the DHS and the U.S. Secret Service in Capitol Hill “was not going as well as some members had hoped.”

“They were thinking that communication was going pretty good. I was told by one source that Homeland Security kind of stepped in and quieted some of the communication between the Secret Service and Capitol Hill,” Pergram said.

In addition to next Monday’s hearing there will be a second hearing the following Tuesday where House lawmakers will hear from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray, Pergram confirmed.

USSS director Cheatle has been under scrutiny in recent days for the Secret Service’s failure to prevent an assassination attempt on the former present.

Trump’s would-be assassin – later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks – fired shots at the former president from the rooftop of a nearby building just minutes after the rally began on Saturday. While the bullets only grazed Trump’s ear, one attendee was killed and others were injured.

Cheatle said Tuesday that the building from which Crooks fired had “a sloped roof at its highest point.”

“And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” Cheatle said. “And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building from inside.”

Despite her comments, snipers were stationed on sloped roofs behind the building where Trump spoke. Video footage shows the building is clearly more sloped than the building where Trump’s would-be assassin was ultimately shot and killed after firing upon the former president.

The Pennsylvania gun shop where would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks bought ammunition before a deadly attempt on former President Donald Trump's life at a rally in nearby Butler County has vowed to fully support law enforcement as investigators seek answers in Saturday's attack.

"As a responsible member of our community, it is our prerogative to cooperate with law enforcement in every way," Allegheny Arms owner Bruce Piendl told Fox News Digital. "We are thankful that President Trump was not assassinated, and our hearts go out to all victims of this horrible incident."

Trump suffered an injury to his right ear in the attack, which killed a spectator named Corey Comperatore and critically wounded two other bystanders – David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, according to authorities. 

The FBI, which is leading the investigation into Crooks' actions, previously said he was not on the radar of federal law enforcement and had no prior criminal record or history of mental illness.

On the day of the shooting, he went to the gun shop just over a mile from his parents' house and bought 50 rounds of ammo, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported earlier.

Read more about the events leading up to Crooks’ attempted assassination of Trump.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

The 20-year-old would-be assassin who fired at former President Trump in Pennsylvania over the weekend was found with a Home Depot receipt for a ladder, sources told NBC News.

Investigators discovered the item on Thomas Matthew Crooks after he was fatally shot by Secret Service agents on Saturday.

Officials are now trying to determine if Crooks used the ladder to access the roof of the building from which he blasted Trump in the ear, sources told the outlet.

More than a dozen firearms were discovered inside the Crooks family home, and the shooter's father called police to tell them his AR rifle was missing after the incident.

The rifle used in the shooting was purchased legally, and may have been his father's.

Law enforcement agents are also investigating if the bullets were bought at Allegheny Arms and Gun Works in Bethel Park.

The store is a brief drive from the Crooks' family home.

Read more about Crook’s trip to Home Depot.

Fox News Digital’s Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.

The Partnership for New York City announced Tuesday that over 180 business leaders are speaking out against the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

In a press release, the nonprofit organization made up of business leaders and companies in New York City, said the attempted assassination of Trump is “reprehensible and should be a wake-up call for Americans.”

“We call upon our fellow Americans to reject violence in all its forms and to uphold basic standards of civility and respect for our differences in the political arena and beyond,” the organization said. “We express profound sympathy for all the innocent victims of this tragedy.”

The list of business leaders who condemned the attempted assassination includes WNBA Commissioner Catherine Engelbert, designer Tory Burch, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.

Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe offered more details on the local law enforcement encounter with Thomas Matthew Crooks before he shot former President Trump on Saturday during a rally in Pennsylvania.

Slupe told Fox News Butler Township police received tips about a suspicious person outside the Trump rally and made efforts to find that person. Officers from Butler Township police started searching the area and eventually figured out that there was someone on the roof of the building. One officer helped another onto the roof. The second officer started to climb up on the roof and saw Crooks, who then pointed a gun at the officer.

At that point, the Butler Township officer dropped off the roof to avoid being shot. Crooks opened fire on Trump shortly afterwards.Moments later, a U.S. Secret Service counter sniper shot and killed Crooks.

The building Crooks fired from was a "rally point" for one of the local counter sniper teams, according to a federal law enforcement official familiar with the security plans. 

The source also said that a team was actually stationed in, or near, the building. There were four counter sniper teams at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, including two from the Secret Service and two from local law enforcement.

Fox News' David Spunt, Jake Gibson and Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this update.

A GoFundMe initiative has raised over $1 million for the family of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who died shielding his family from bullets meant for former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

Jason Bubb, who owns the Three Fit Six gym in Cabot, organized the fundraiser for Comperatore's daughter Allyson, who frequents the establishment.

"She's an awesome client of mine," Bubb told WTAE. 

"Saturday night, our friend and family, Allyson, lost her father due to a senseless, tragic act at the Trump rally in Butler," Bubb wrote for the fundraiser. "Allyson has been an athlete with us since the beginning. She's a huge part of our community... if you're able to support her and her family during this time, we will have a spot for donations at the gym. Additionally, please take the time to sign the cards at the desk."

The slain firefighter's sister, Dawn Comperatore Schafer, wrote in a Facebook post that Comperatore "was a hero that shielded his daughters."

On Facebook, Allyson described her father as "the best dad a girl could ever ask for," writing that he "died a real-life superhero."

"He threw my mom and I to the ground... [and] shielded my body from the bullet that came at us," she wrote on Facebook.

Originally, Bubb intended to raise just $7,000 for the Comperatore family, but as of Tuesday morning, over 20,000 backers had donated more than $1,114,000.

"And now I'm in it, and I'm going to do it to my fullest power to help her, and by all means, this is all about that family," Bubb told WTAE.

Fox News Digital's Christina Coulter contributed to this update.

Fox News has learned a Joint Intelligence Bulletin from FBI and Department of Homeland Security was published this week and shared with multiple intelligence and law enforcement organizations warning of potential repeat attacks and retaliation following the shooting of former President Donald Trump on Saturday.

Fox News has not independently reviewed the full bulletin, but an FBI source says, “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."

Politico first reported the contents of the memo, which said 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.

The four-page bulletin reportedly did not mention specific targets. 

These bulletins are not unusual and are meant to remind people to keep eyes out and stay alert.

Fox News' David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this update.

During CBS’ "The Late Show" on Monday night, host Stephen Colbert expressed grief for America after the assassination attempt against former President Trump.

Ahead of his typical format, Colbert played a prerecorded monologue of his thoughts about the attempted murder of Trump. He remarked that a "great tragedy" almost occurred and described the "horror" of finding out that a rally attendee was killed.

"My immediate reaction when I saw this on Saturday was horror at what was unfolding, relief that Donald Trump had lived and, frankly, grief for my beautiful country," the late night host said.

An assassin’s bullet grazed Trump’s right ear, narrowly avoiding killing the former president only minutes into his speech at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. Trump was not seriously hurt, though other rally goers were hit with stray fire. One was killed.

U.S. Secret Service snipers killed the suspected assassin immediately after he fired several shots at Trump.

Sitting at his desk for the segment, Colbert stated, "The United States came close to a great tragedy on Saturday when at a political rally down in Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old gunman shot and nearly killed a former president and the man who today became the 2024 Republican nominee."

The host continued, mentioning his sadness at the incident and his reaction to the man killed by the gunfire. He then condemned the violence, stating, "I could just as easily start the show moaning on the floor, because how many times do we need to learn the lesson that violence has no role in our politics, that the entire objective of a democracy is to fight out our differences with — as the saying goes — a ballot, not a bullet."

He also talked about his experience witnessing assassinations in America’s past, saying, "I’m old enough that one of my earliest memories is sitting in a dark room with my sister watching my parents’ little black-and-white TV, and seeing Bobby Kennedy’s coffin on that slow train from New York down to Washington."

His point was that "that violence is with us still — from the shooting of a GOP baseball practice that seriously injured Steve Scalise, to the plot to kidnap and kill Governor Gretchen Whitmer, to the hammer attack that nearly killed Paul Pelosi, to the horrors of Jan. 6, to this most recent attack."

Towards the end of the remarks, Colbert mentioned how Americans are looking to lower the temperature of their political discourse following the attack, though he expressed uncertainty about whether that would happen.

"In the wake of this attack on Saturday, many Americans on both sides of the aisle, from President Biden to Speaker Johnson, are calling on all this to change how we see each other, how we treat each other, how we talk to each other," he said, adding, "That may or may not happen."

Fox News Digital's Gabriel Hays contributed to this update.

Although investigators have not yet determined his motive, a picture of the 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate former President Trump is becoming more clear as his former classmates come forward with their impressions.

Few people clapped when slender, bespectacled Thomas Matthew Crooks was handed his diploma at his graduation from Bethel Park High School in 2022, a YouTube video of the ceremony shows.

Former peers who have spoken out since he was shot dead by Secret Service agents on Saturday have characterized the Pennsylvania resident as a quiet loner. 

Jason Kohler, who attended the same high school as Crooks, described him to Fox News as an "outcast" who was always alone and "bullied every day."

Kohler told reporters that Crooks sat alone at lunchtime and was mocked for his clothing, which often included "hunting outfits."

Julianna Grooms, who graduated one year after Crooks, also said that he dressed in camouflage or hunting attire and interacted awkwardly. 

"If someone would say something to his face, he would just kind of stare at them," Grooms told the Wall Street Journal. "People would say he was the student who would shoot up the school."

"He was a nerdy kid, but I don't think he was as harshly bullied as some people are saying," Mark Sigafoos, who shared two classes with Crooks, told the Inquirer. "He never wore trench coats or anything of the sort to school."

"He never outwardly spoke about his political views or how much he hated Trump or anything," said Sarah D’Angelo, another classmate of Crooks at Bethel Park High, told the outlet. During homeroom before classes began, she recalled him playing games on his laptop.

"I feel like this is one of those things that you wouldn't expect from him," Sigafoos continued. "No one that I know said they ever found him to be a creepy, loner kind of guy."

Fox News Digital's Christina Coulter contributed to this update.

A popular firearms influencer spoke out Monday on YouTube condemning Thomas Matthew Crooks' attempted assassination of former president Trump and said he was stunned to learn the shooter was wearing a Demolition Ranch T-shirt. 

"As a lot of you guys know — and we were shocked and confused to find this out — the shooter who tried to assassinate Trump was wearing merch from my channel, wearing a Demolition Ranch T-shirt," Matt Carriker told his 11 million subscribers.

The video has racked up nearly 4 million views.

"We don’t vet the people who buy our shirts," Carriker said. "I would love to keep people like that from buying, wearing, being associated with that article of clothing…I wish he couldn’t get a shirt, but it happened." he said.

The Texas-based veterinarian, who runs two firearms channels for gun enthusiasts, said he usually steers clear of political discussions, but the news has thrust him and his business into the spotlight. 

"I think the difference in a gunman wearing a pair of Nike shoes and a gunman wearing my T-shirt is this brand is much more personal to me than Nike is to its executives," he said. "To see my name next to the shooter’s name — oh, it sucks and I wish, I wish we could keep that from happening."

He added, "No matter what side you're on politically, none of us want violence. This channel was never meant to incite violence or hate. It never has, it isn't, and it never will be a channel that does that. I don't want any violence or hate anywhere around me. I have a wife and little kids. I want them to be safe and secure forever."

Fox News Digital's Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this update.

Authorities said Tuesday that those injured in the assassination attempt on former President Trump received aid "extremely quickly" after the shooting.

Steven Bicehouse, Director of Butler County Emergency Services, said the two spectators at Trump's rally in Butler, Penn., who had gunshot wounds were evacuated from the bleacher area and taken to a treatment area away from the crowd where they received medical attention.

"The care for those patients that had the gunshot wounds happened within seconds to maybe a minute. And that's extremely, extremely rare," Bicehouse told Fox News Digital. "Usually, in those circumstances it takes a while because you usually don't have physicians, nurses and paramedics right there. And that happened. Everybody got their care extremely quickly and extremely professionally. These guys are the ultimate professionals that they're that take that job on." 

The director added that several first responders were volunteers.

"There were staff that were there as part of their jobs, but there were volunteer members of the medical team that were extremely crucial in making sure that the attendees were kept safe during this event. I can't say enough about them."

Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this update.

Thomas Matthew Crooks , the gunman who died after a failed assassination attempt on former President Trump, had a degree in engineering science from the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC). 

Crooks graduated two months ago, the school told Fox News in a statement. 

"Like all Americans, we are shocked and saddened by the horrific turn of events that took place in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. We are grateful that former President Trump is safe and recovering, and we extend our condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore on their loss, and offer our thoughts and prayers to all others who have been impacted by this tragedy," a CCAC spokesperson said. 

"As the investigation into this weekend’s events continues, CCAC will fully cooperate with members of law enforcement. The college will provide information in keeping with college policies and law enforcement protocols and practices."

Corey Comperatore, 50, died Saturday night while shielding his wife and family from gunfire after a 20-year-old Crooks snuck onto a roof and started shooting at Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were also injured by stray bullets meant for Trump. 

Fox News' CB Cotton contributed to this update.

New video from the assassination attempt on former President Trump's life shows the moment his shoes came off as Secret Service agents rushed to protect the president. 

In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said his protective detail rushed at him like "linebackers" after shots rang out during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

"They did a fantastic job," he told the Post. "It’s surreal for all of us." 

As Secret Service agents rushed Trump off the stage, he was heard saying he wanted to get his shoes.

"The agents hit me so hard that my shoes fell off, and my shoes are tight," he explained to the Post. 

The video shows one of the agents who surrounded Trump scooping up his shoes and tossing them off stage before the former president was carried to safety. 

Trump was rushed to a hospital after he appeared to suffer an injury to his ear and was pictured with blood on the right side of his face and head as Secret Service agents escorted him off the rally stage.

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this update.

The FBI investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Trump is honing in on the response from local law enforcement. 

Sources tell Fox News that FBI agents are interviewing members of local law enforcement, specifically the officer who saw shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks armed, but retreated away from the building. Crooks opened fire literally seconds later, according to law enforcement sources. 

There is great frustration in the law enforcement community over the actions of this officer, sources familiar say.

Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe said in interviews with local media that a county deputy confronted Crooks moments before the shooting but ducked for cover when he peered above the edge of the roof and the killer turned the gun on him.

"The officer had both hands up on the roof to get up onto the roof, [and] never made it because the shooter had turned towards the officer, and rightfully and smartfully, the officer let go," he told KDKA-TV.

Security outside the Secret Service's secured perimeter is typically handled by state and local law enforcement. 

Fox News' David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this update.

FBI agents were seen Tuesday at the American Glass Research complex that gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks used as a sniper's perch in his assassination attempt on former President Trump.

Fox News Digital reporters witnessed employees being allowed back into the building for the first time since the shooting. A short time after, FBI agents began to arrive. 

Overnight, workers removed the large American flag that hung over Trump as he delivered his remarks to thousands of supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

FBI agents on Monday entered the Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, home of would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks.

Federal authorities say Crooks, 20, shot at Trump with an AR-15 while the former president was speaking at his rally in Butler on Saturday evening, but the gunman missed his intended target and hit three other victims — one of whom died.

"The FBI continues to investigate the shooting incident at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, as an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and as potential domestic terrorism.," the FBI told Fox News' David Spunt in a statement. "The investigation is still in the early stages and the FBI is providing the following updates: FBI technical specialists successfully gained access to Thomas Matthew Crooks’ phone, and they continue to analyze his electronic devices. The search of the subject's residence and vehicle are complete."

The FBI added that it has "conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement personnel, event attendees, and other witnesses," and the agency's "work continues."

Fox News' Courtney De George and Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this update.

A speaker at President Trump’s Pennsylvania rally where he was injured by an attempted assassin’s bullet spoke out Monday after treating the attendee who was fatally shot in the head.

Rico Elmore, a hydraulic mechanic with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 171st Air Refueling Wing, said he was seated in the VIP area of the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally when shots rang out.

Elmore, seated near GOP Senate candidate David McCormick, former House candidate Sean Parnell and Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo, had recently returned to his seat when he heard what sounded like firecrackers.

"Immediately, myself, Sean Parnell and J.D. Longo, we’re both, because of our military background, we’re like, ‘Something’s going on,’" said Elmore, who is also the Beaver County Republican Committee's vice chair.

"So, we're looking around, trying to scour the area, and you hear it again. And then we just start yelling, ‘Everyone get down.’"

Elmore recounted watching Secret Service agents pile atop Trump to shield him, before he noticed a rallygoer calling out for a medic.

Elmore ran over, crossed a barricade and helped treat Corey Comperatore, noticing he had been shot in the head.

While those in attendance proclaimed him a hero, Elmore said the true hero was the doctor who performed CPR on Comperatore, who died from his injuries.

"People perceived that I was somebody of importance. I'm just an average Joe who wanted to be there, went to the event and who spoke at it, but people perceive otherwise. So, I took it on and said, you know, ‘Everyone get down, get down, get down,’" he recounted.

Fox News Digital's Charles Creitz contributed to this update.

"School of Rock" star Jack Black announced Tuesday that his comedy band, Tenacious D, has canceled their current tour after Black's bandmate made a dark joke about the attempted assassination of former President Trump. 

At a concert on Sunday , Black wished his bandmate and fellow actor Kyle Gass "Happy Birthday" before asking him to "make a wish," in a video that went viral on social media. Gass replied with, "Don’t miss Trump next time."

Black said in a statement to DailyMail.com that he was "blindsided" by Gass' remarks. 

"I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday. I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form," Black said. 

"After much reflection, I no longer feel it is appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, and all future creative plans are on hold. I am grateful to the fans for their support and understanding." 

Fox News Digital's Kristine Parks contributed to this update.

The photojournalist who captured the image of former President Trump’s defiant reaction to an assassination attempt Saturday says he was just doing his job and "history will judge whether it is iconic."

Moments after a bullet grazed Trump’s right ear on Saturday, he raised a fist to the crowd of supporters as he was rushed off the stage with blood smeared across his face, Secret Service flanking him, an American flag flying above his head. Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci captured the image that immediately went viral and landed on newspaper front pages across the world. 

"I was literally just thinking about doing the best possible job I could, because I knew that this was a moment in American history that I had to be at the top of my game for," Vucci told Fox News Digital on Monday from Milwaukee, where he was preparing to photograph the Republican National Convention. 

Vucci, a Pulitzer winner who has covered thousands of similar events for the AP since 2003, said the Butler, Pennsylvania rally was "just like any other" until he heard popping sounds over his left shoulder. 

"I knew immediately it was gunfire. I trained my lens on the stage, and I saw Secret Service agents going to run to the president, covering him up. And from that moment, I ran to the stage and I got my wide angle lens, and I started making photographs. I went into work mode," Vucci said. 

"I knew immediately that it was going to be one of the most important things I'll ever photograph, and that I needed to do the best job possible," Vucci continued. "So I just immediately started thinking about, ‘OK, what do I need to do? How do I compose this? What's going to happen next?’"

Vucci switched to a wide angle to ensure the flag flying above got in his shot. He noticed an SUV parked to the side of the stage as Secret Service agents covered Trump and chaos erupted around him. Vucci said he "sprinted" to the side of the stage, assuming it was where Trump would exit, and got in position to snap photos as Trump pumped his fist toward the crowd. 

"That’s where I was when he was coming down… and that's the photo a lot of people are sharing," he said. 

The photo hasn’t merely been shared. It has also been praised as both iconic and instantly historic, and it will be on the next print cover of TIME Magazine. it's also one that could change some people's perceptions forever of Trump, one of the most controversial, beloved and loathed political figures in American history.

Fox News Digital's Brian Flood and David Rutz contributed to this update.

The volunteer firefighter who died while shielding his family from the sniper who tried to kill former President Trump over the weekend at a rally in Pennsylvania said "get down!" as his final words, his wife has revealed. 

Helen Comperatore told the New York Post that she and her husband Corey were close to celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary when their family headed to the campaign event in Butler, outside of Pittsburgh, on Saturday.  

"He’s my hero," Helen Comperatore said to the newspaper from her home in nearby Sarver, Pennsylvania. "He just said, ‘get down!’ That was the last thing he said."

"Me and the kids were all there as a family," she added. "He was just excited. It was going to be a nice day with the family. 

Corey Comperatore, 50, was the former fire chief for the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company. The department now has a memorial set up outside its firehouse featuring Comperatore’s uniform to honor who they described as a "brother, son, husband, father and friend." 

"He was a simple man, but he put his wife and kids first all the time. I did nothing here. I didn’t lift a finger. He did everything," Helen Comperatore told the New York Post in the wake of the shooting, which injured Trump and critically injured two other rallygoers who are expected to survive. 

Helen Comperatore also said President Biden tried to call her family following the incident but "I didn’t want to talk to him. 

"I didn’t talk to Biden," she said. "My husband was a devout Republican and he would not have wanted me to talk to him." 

"I don’t have any ill-will towards Joe Biden," Helen Comperatore added. "I’m not one of those people that gets involved in politics. I support Trump, that’s who I’m voting for but I don’t have ill-will towards Biden." 

Helen Comperatore described the shooter at the rally, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, as a "despicable kid." 

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this update.

United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle acknowledged in an interview that responsibility for the security failure that led to the attempted assassination of former President Trump ultimately rests with herself. 

"The buck stops with me," Cheatle told ABC News on Tuesday morning.

The director acknowledged the incident never should have happened and confirmed that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, had been identified as a person of interest. But by the time Crooks was located, it was too late to stop his bullets.

"The shooter was actually identified as a potential person of suspicion," she said. "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 told ABC News her first reaction to the shooting was "shock." 

She also said the Secret Service was aware of the security vulnerabilities presented by the building Crooks took a sniper's position on to aim at Trump. However, a decision was made not to place any personnel on the roof. 

"That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn't want to put somebody up on a sloped roof. And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside." 

Fox News' Tamara Gitt contributed to this update.

President Biden revealed that his phone call with former President Donald Trump was "very cordial" after the assassination attempt on Saturday.

"I told him how concerned I was and wanted to make sure I knew how he was actually doing," Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt during an interview on Monday night. "He sounded good. He said he was fine, and he thanked me for calling."

"I told him he was literally in the prayers of Jill and me, and his whole family was weathering this," Biden added. 

Holt’s wide-ranging interview touched on a number of topics about Biden’s troubled run for president in November and the way that the assassination attempt on Trump at his Pennsylvania rally changed the election. 

But Holt first focused on Biden’s own actions following the news of what had happened: Biden was in Delaware on a planned vacation when the attack happened, and he immediately canceled his plans and returned to the White House to address the nation. He announced within hours that he had spoken with Trump on the phone, which Trump praised his rival for reaching out to him. 

"[My] first reaction was, oh my God, this is, oh, there’s so much violence now," Biden told Holt. "I mean, the whole notion that there is this – there’s not place at all for violence in politics in America. None. Zero." 

"We’ve reached the point where it’s become too commonplace, not assassinations, but to talk about, for example, you know, the Jan. 6 attack on the capitol," Biden continued. "I got in this race early on in 2020 – for the 2020 race. I wasn’t going to run again because I had lost my son. I didn’t feel … and I watched what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia." 

"It was folks coming out of the woods with torches, carrying swastikas, singing the same Nazi bile, accompanied by the Klan," he added. "A young woman was killed, and I was a bystander, and the president – then president – was asked, what do you think? He said, ‘there are very fine people on both sides.’"

"No excuse," Biden reiterated. "Zero." 

Fox News Digital's Peter Aitken contributed to this update.

Former White House physician and current Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson says former President Trump was "not fazed at all" by the assassination attempt that rattled his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania over the weekend.

Jackson, who spent time with Trump in Bedminster, New Jersey following the incident, told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo early Monday that he has "not missed a beat."

"The staff is a little shaken up, I think, but he was not fazed at all by this. He was his same usual self, and he's been in a great mood. He's been joking around. He's very fired up and energetic," he said.

"I was proud to see that. It's a good example [of] when you have other people that work for you that are a little shaken up. It's a leadership move, and I'm proud to see the way he's stepped up."

Jackson's nephew, who attended Trump's campaign rally in Butler on Saturday, was also injured when a bullet grazed his neck but is "doing well."

"To be honest with you, I think the most traumatic thing for him was not the superficial, minor injury that he sustained, but the fact that he was in the medical tent with the gentleman who passed away," Jackson said.

"They were in the medical tent together. I think that shook him up a little bit," he added. 

Jackson, who formerly served as White House physician during the Obama and Trump administrations, got the chance to look at the former president's wound while onboard a plane with him on Sunday.

"It did hit his ear, obviously you saw the blood, but he turned his head just at the exact right time, and it just took off a little bit of the top of part of his ear. The ear, of course, is very vascular, so it bleeds like crazy. It's bandaged up and everything because it's prone to bleed again, and it has been a little bit," he said.

Fox Business' Taylor Penley contributed to this update.

The Fraternal Order of Police is taking issue with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) response to the attempted assassination against former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening.

"All of us want answers to our questions. There was, as Secretary Mayorkas said earlier, a security failure—one that nearly cost former President Trump his life," FOP President Patrick Yoes said in a statement. "All of us in law enforcement can agree that the roof of the building should have been secured by law enforcement. It clearly was not. Nonetheless, we must recognize the extraordinary heroism of the Secret Service agents and other officers on the scene who saved the life of their protectee."

Yoes' comments come as the USSS faces national backlash for its security during the Trump rally that left 50-year-old Corey Comperatore dead after he was shot while protecting his wife and daughters from gunfire. Two others, 57-year-old David Dutch of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and 74-year-old James Copenhaver of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, are critically wounded.

While many locals and rally attendees who spoke with Fox News Digital are thankful Trump is still alive, they are devastated that Comperatore was killed and still asking questions about how gunman Thomas Crooks was able to get on the rooftop of a nearby building and shoot toward the former president.

The FOP noted that while information about the shooting is still developing, Crooks was still able to reach a position with a direct line of sight toward Trump, who is protected by the USSS.

"We must remember that the law enforcement mission is a shared mission and law enforcement at every level routinely cooperates and collaborates with one another," Yoes continued. "More than 90% of U.S. law enforcement are [s]tate and local officers. They would not be as effective at their jobs without the support of the Federal colleagues, and our Federal partners would be unable to perform their functions without the assistance of State and local agencies."

Yoes added that suggestions made to media that local law enforcement agencies should not assist the USSS at events like a presidential campaign rally "do not know what they are talking about."

Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this update.

A veteran Nevada law enforcement officer, who served in the elite FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, said he was left "blown away" after a barrage of gunfire broke out at former President Trump's rally in Pennsylvania.

Ashton Packe, a retired Las Vegas detective, shared an inside look into the investigation of the assassination attempt in Butler.

"I was initially just blown away," he said. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing was actually happening because we put so much faith and belief in the system of the Secret Service to protect former presidents, current presidents and their families."

Packe applauded the U.S. Secret Service personnel who quickly surrounded the former president without hesitation.

"I think I counted less than three seconds from the initial shot to an agent throwing himself on President Trump's body," he said. "I've analyzed the video. I've gone through it several times myself."

The law enforcement veteran said the suspect, who was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was "amateur hour."

"As far as the suspect is concerned, it was amateur hour," he said. "Anyone you know with an AR-15 rifle or a M4 variant is very effective within 150 yards of where that shot was taken. 

"And so he failed at this, as I'm sure he's failed at many things in his life," Packe said.

Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this update.

A former FBI special agent gave an inside look into what federal investigators are looking for after they decrypted the killer's cellphone and laptop in the hope in the hope of discovering Thomas Crooks' motive.

Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Scott Duffey told Fox News Digital that, since the FBI announced that it successfully unlocked Crooks' electronics, it is now able to download the contents of his digital footprint.

"The FBI's cellular analysis surveillance team would be able to look through his phone, be able to download what is on there through software that they have and through cell tower information," he said.

"Since this is a rural area, did he leave that area? Was he venturing out or communicating with anybody?" Duffey said. "They will be able to piece together his whereabouts."

Duffey said that the FBI's capabilities are "second to none" and that the agency will thoroughly search through Crooks' electronics

"They're going to be looking for is who, if anyone, he was in contact with," he said. "And if not in contact with anyone, then gather information about what he was reviewing, reading and researching."

Duffey said the FBI will be investigating the extent of knowledge Crooks' may have had about bomb-making.

The FBI previously said that 20-year-old Crooks had explosives inside his car, found parked near the Pennsylvania rally, and bomb-making materials at his home.

"How far advanced was he in those devices? So were they improvised devices that were already ready to go, or was it materials that, for whatever reason, was just to throw dogs off and whatnot," he said.

"And they [the FBI] will want to know how long he had been doing this," Duffey said. "The research that led into the ultimate act of taking a rifle up on top of a rooftop and then firing it into a crowd and ultimately towards the former President of the United States, Donald Trump."

Duffey said that federal agencies will also prioritize if Crooks left a final note before his attack at the former president's rally.

"Did he leave a manifesto? Did he write? Did he journal?" he said. "Just amassing pieces of evidence."

Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this update.

The Pennsylvania gun club where would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks practiced his aim was open Monday after visits from the FBI amid a probe into the deadly security breach that let an armed madman within 130 yards of the former president.

It was not immediately clear whether investigators found anything of evidentiary value at the range, and members condemned the suspect and his actions as something their community is "not about."

A lawyer for the Clairton Sportmen's Club previously distanced the members from Crooks.

"Obviously, the Club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence that occurred [Saturday]," attorney Rob Bootay said in a statement. "The Club also offers its sincerest condolences to the Comperatore family and extends prayers to all of those injured including the former President."

The club is one of several in the area where members take part in sports shooting events and promote firearms safety.

The FBI's visit comes as the bureau looks to identify a motive and is scrutinizing newly obtained data from the suspect's phone.

Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the situation told Fox News that Crooks fired a DPMS AR-15 5.56 at Trump and the bystanders. His dad bought the weapon in 2013.

It’s at the FBI’s forensics lab in Quantico, Virginia, along with his phone, laptop and at least one improvised explosive device from his car, according to the sources.

Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this update.

The U.S. Secret Service doubled down on its support for local law enforcement after reports surfaced that the agency was allegedly blaming police officers for the deadly shooting at former President Trump's Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.

In a statement posted on X late Monday night, the USSS said it is "deeply grateful" for the "unwavering commitment and bravery" displayed by "police officers and local partners."

"Our agency, composed of dedicated professionals, many from state & local departments, cannot fulfill our mission without the support of courageous police officers. We are deeply grateful to the officers who ran towards danger to locate the gunman and to all our local partners for their unwavering commitment," the agency's statement read. "Any news suggesting the Secret Service is blaming local law enforcement for Saturday's incident is simply not true."

The parents of the 20-year-old who unleashed a barrage of gunfire toward former President Trump are licensed professional counselors through the Pennsylvania social work board.

Mary Elizabeth Crooks and Matthew Brian Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, are licensed as professional counselors, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State Licensing System Verification service.

The 20-year-old attempted assassin's parents both have active licenses, the service said.

Both Mary and Matthew's licenses expire in February 2025, and they have been professional counselors since 2002, the records showed.

Thomas' family home is now the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation after the shooting on Saturday at a Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.

Crooks' motive in the shooting remains unclear.

Records showed Crooks was registered as a Republican voter, but campaign finance reports also showed he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Biden was sworn into office.

The U.S. Secret Service has faced criticism for allowing Thomas Matthew Crooks to take a position on a roof from which he shot former President Trump. 

Several witnesses have also come forward in interviews and videos on social media claiming they reported seeing an armed man before the shooting started. 

"Just because someone is on a roof doesn’t mean the [counter-sniper] guys can just open fire," said Bill Gage, an expert on active shooter response who retired from the Secret Service after 13 years with the agency, including 6 ½ as a member of the counter assault team. "They operate under Graham v Connor use of force rules. They would have had to perceive a threat."

Crooks made it up onto the roof with DPMS AR-15 5.56 rifle, which authorities recovered at the scene. It had been purchased legally by his father more than a decade ago, according to law enforcement sources.

Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe said in interviews with local media that a county deputy confronted Crooks moments before the shooting but ducked for cover when he peered above the edge of the roof and the killer turned the gun on him.

Security outside the Secret Service's secured perimeter is typically handled by state and local law enforcement. 

Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this update.

A local law enforcement officer spotted a suspicious man carrying a range-finder "in or just-outside" the venue before former President Donald Trump took the stage at his rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania on Saturday night, according to a law enforcement source.

The officer reported the sighting to state police, the source said. He took a photo, and there was a discussion about whether what he was carrying was a pair of binoculars to try and see the rally better.

A few minutes into Trump's remarks, a would-be assassin identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire, according to authorities.

He wounded the former president, killed a 50-year-old father of two and wounded two more spectators before a Secret Service counter-sniper neutralized the threat, according to authorities.

It was not immediately clear how long Crooks was on the roof, but sources say he was initially seen without the gun about 30 minutes before the attack.

State police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the source's version of events. 

Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this update.