Trump rally shooter’s motive still unclear as Biden urges calm

Federal investigators are continuing to investigate the motive of the gunman who opened fire during former President Donald Trump’s rally Saturday, grazing the former president’s ear while leaving one bystander dead and two critically wounded.

In an address from the Oval Office on Sunday night, President Biden said the shooter’s motivations were still unclear, and urged Americans to reject politically motivated violence.

“There is no place in America for this kind of violence, for any violence, ever. Period. No exceptions. We can’t allow this violence to become normalized,” Mr. Biden said. “The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that.”

More details emerged Sunday about the shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who was killed after he opened fire. Rudimentary bomb-making material was found at the gunman’s home and in his vehicle. He was a member of a local gun club, and a former classmate said that he had tried out for the high school rifle team but didn’t make it.

The FBI is investigating whether Crooks was a politically motivated homegrown domestic violent extremist, and investigators are still combing through his background. Justice Department officials told reporters that investigators have Crooks’ phone and were examining it at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia.

Law enforcement sources said bystanders spotted Crooks with a rifle on a roof about 400 feet from where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania, and reported his presence to authorities. The sheriff of Butler County said a local police officer was hoisted by another officer to look onto the roof. Crooks pointed his rifle towards the officer, who let go and fell off. 

Crooks then turned toward the rally and fired six to eight rounds using an AR-style weapon. A Secret Service sniper soon shot and killed him. Trump was quickly whisked from the stage by armed agents, blood running down the side of his face.

Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday morning, saying it “was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.” 

Earlier, Mr. Biden ordered an independent review of the security at the rally to assess what took place, and said he directed the Secret Service to examine security measures for this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump will be formally named as the party’s nominee. Trump landed in the city Sunday evening.

Trump and Mr. Biden spoke Saturday night in what a White House official characterized as a “good, short and respectful” call.