The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Donald Trump was grazed in the right ear by a bullet during the July 13, 2024 rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight rounds from a nearby AGR complex roof; attendee Corey Comperatore was killed, David Dutch and James Copenhaver were gravely wounded, and law enforcement fatally shot Crooks.
Donald Trump shot in assassination attempt: what happened?
The official reconstruction identifies a real assassination attempt, a deceased shooter, three civilian casualties, and a protective-security breakdown that congressional investigators later called preventable. The official record does not establish Crooks’s motive or credible co-conspirators as of the FBI’s August 28, 2024 briefing.
Key takeaways
- According to the U.S. House Task Force’s 2024 final report, Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight rounds from the AGR complex roof during the July 13, 2024 Butler rally.
- The House Task Force placed Crooks’s firing position approximately 150 yards from the stage, outside the rally’s immediate perimeter.
- Donald Trump survived a bullet graze to his right ear; attendee Corey Comperatore was killed, while David Dutch and James Copenhaver were gravely wounded.
- The FBI’s August 28, 2024 briefing said Crooks reached the roof at about 6:05 p.m. and fired at approximately 6:11 p.m., leaving him roughly six minutes on the roof.
- The FBI found evidence of preparation and reconnaissance but did not establish a definitive motive or find credible evidence of co-conspirators as of August 28, 2024.
- The House Task Force concluded that the attack was preventable and resulted from cumulative failures in planning, execution, leadership, staffing, communications, and protective coverage rather than one isolated error.
What happened when Donald Trump was shot at the Butler rally?
Donald Trump was speaking at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, when Thomas Matthew Crooks fired from the roof of the nearby AGR complex. The first round grazed Trump’s right ear. Other rounds struck attendees before law-enforcement personnel returned fire and fatally shot Crooks.
Minute-by-minute reconstruction
| Approximate time | Event | What the official record establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Before the rally | Preparation and reconnaissance | Crooks researched the rally, the grounds, the location where Trump would speak, the AGR facility, a ballistic calculator, and the weather. He registered to attend, visited the area, flew a drone over the site on July 13, and obtained the rifle later used in the attack. |
| About 6:05 p.m. | Crooks reaches the AGR roof | The FBI’s August 28, 2024 briefing placed Crooks’s arrival on the roof at approximately 6:05 p.m. |
| About 6:11 p.m. | Eight rounds are fired | The FBI and House Task Force placed the shooting at approximately 6:11 p.m. The House report placed the firing position approximately 150 yards from the stage. |
| Immediately afterward | Protective response | Secret Service agents covered Trump and moved him from the stage while law-enforcement personnel returned fire. Crooks was fatally shot. |
The FBI’s August 28, 2024 briefing and the House Task Force report provide the principal official timelines. The time references are approximate, not a claim that every event can be assigned to an exact second.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems#1 Best Overall
Was Donald Trump actually hit by a bullet?
Yes. The official account describes Trump as having been grazed in the right ear by a bullet, meaning Trump was physically struck but survived the assassination attempt. The available record does not describe Trump as suffering a fatal or penetrating head wound.
Secret Service agents immediately shielded Trump with their bodies and escorted him away from the stage after the shots. Trump survived, while three rally attendees were struck with far more serious consequences.
Who was killed or wounded in the Trump assassination attempt?
Corey Comperatore was killed, and David Dutch and James Copenhaver were gravely wounded. The three men were rally attendees, not alleged participants in the attack.
| Person | Status | Officially reported detail |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump | Survived | Bullet graze to the right ear. |
| Corey Comperatore | Killed | Rally attendee killed during the gunfire. |
| David Dutch | Gravely wounded | Rally attendee struck during the attack. |
| James Copenhaver | Gravely wounded | Rally attendee struck during the attack. |
The casualty information comes from the House Task Force’s 2024 final report. The names and statuses should be kept separate from speculation about motive or political affiliation.
Recommended Free Tools
Who shot Donald Trump in Pennsylvania?
Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump from the roof of the nearby AGR complex. Crooks was fatally shot by law enforcement during the response, and the FBI later reported that an autopsy attributed his death to a single gunshot wound to the head.
The FBI also reported that toxicology testing was negative for alcohol and drugs of abuse. Those findings describe Crooks’s condition after the attack; they do not explain why he selected Trump or establish an ideological motive.
What did Thomas Matthew Crooks do before the shooting?
The documented evidence shows preparation and reconnaissance, but preparation is not the same as a proven political motive. Crooks searched for information about the Butler rally, the rally grounds, Trump’s speaking location, the AGR facility, a ballistic calculator, and Butler weather. He also registered for the rally, visited the area beforehand, flew a drone over the site on July 13, and obtained the rifle later used in the attack.
| Documented action | What it supports | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Searches about the rally, grounds, Trump’s location, AGR, ballistics, and weather | Evidence of research and preparation. | A definitive political, ideological, or personal motive. |
| Earlier visit to the area | Familiarity with the location and possible reconnaissance. | That anyone else directed or assisted Crooks. |
| Drone flight over the site on July 13 | Additional site reconnaissance before the shooting. | Proof of a wider plot or co-conspirators. |
| Acquisition of the rifle later used | Access to the weapon used in the attack. | A conclusion about motive based only on the acquisition. |
The FBI said its analysis of Crooks’s searches provided insight into his preparation and mindset, but investigators did not find a conclusive explanation for the attack. The distinction matters: the record supports a planned act of violence without resolving the reason behind it.
How did the shooter get onto the roof?
Crooks was able to reach and remain on the roof of the nearby AGR complex, which was outside the rally’s immediate perimeter, before firing toward the stage. The House Task Force placed the roof approximately 150 yards from Trump’s stage and found that Crooks was able to loiter near the complex before climbing onto the roof.
The House Task Force specifically found that no Secret Service counter-surveillance unit was present at the Butler rally. Counter-surveillance coverage is designed to identify suspicious activity outside the protected site, making the absence of that asset significant because the threat originated beyond the rally’s immediate perimeter.
The congressional finding was not that one person made one decisive mistake. The House Task Force wrote, “The tragic and shocking events in Butler, Pennsylvania were preventable and should not have happened.” The same report said, “There was not, however, a singular moment or decision that allowed Thomas Matthew Crooks to nearly assassinate the former President.” Those findings describe a chain of failures involving advance planning, execution, leadership, and preexisting conditions that weakened the personnel and equipment deployed that day.
Was the Secret Service responsible for the security failure?
The official findings identify serious failures in the protective operation and its leadership, including the absence of Secret Service counter-surveillance coverage, but they do not support reducing the entire event to one employee or one agency’s isolated action. The House Task Force described cumulative failures, while the Senate inquiry examined the surrounding agencies, planning, communications, staffing, and reforms.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The Senate report records Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe’s description of the attempt as “a failure on multiple levels.” The Senate report, published in 2025, documented reforms initiated after the attack, while the House report concluded that the security breakdown was preventable. These findings assign institutional accountability without establishing that a security failure itself proves a conspiracy.
The Department of Justice’s July 13, 2024 statement said the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Justice Department National Security Division, Secret Service, and state and local law-enforcement partners were working on the investigation. The number of agencies involved helps explain why the official reviews address both Crooks’s conduct and the protective system around the rally.
What did the FBI find about the shooting and its motive?
The FBI became the lead federal investigative agency and described the incident as an assassination attempt and a potential domestic-terrorism matter. The FBI’s investigation focused on reconstructing the shooting, determining Crooks’s motive, and determining whether he acted with co-conspirators.
Rank #4
- Team of Rivals The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
According to the FBI’s August 28, 2024 briefing, investigators conducted nearly 1,000 interviews, served numerous search warrants, issued dozens of subpoenas, and reviewed hundreds of hours of video. The FBI said those efforts produced useful information about Crooks’s preparation and mindset but did not establish a definitive motive.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
The FBI also said it had not found credible evidence of co-conspirators as of August 28, 2024. That is a dated investigative finding. It should not be rewritten as an unlimited claim that no future investigation or disclosure could ever produce additional information.
The FBI’s initial Butler investigation update from July 14, 2024 identified the FBI as the lead agency and described the continuing work with federal, state, and local partners. The later briefing added the more developed findings about Crooks’s searches, preparation, autopsy, toxicology, motive, and possible co-conspirators.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How do the FBI, House, and Senate investigations differ?
The investigations examined different parts of the same event. The FBI primarily investigated Crooks’s conduct, motive, evidence, and possible co-conspirators; the House Task Force reconstructed the protective failure; and the Senate inquiry assessed the surrounding security breakdown and reforms.
| Review | Timing and scope | Main conclusion | Level of certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
| FBI investigation and July 14 update | Immediate federal investigation into the shooting, Crooks, possible terrorism implications, and coordination with partner agencies. | The event was an assassination attempt and potential domestic-terrorism matter; the investigation remained active. | Strong on the event and investigative status; not a final motive finding. |
| FBI media briefing | August 28, 2024 status report focused on preparation, mindset, motive, and co-conspirators. | Nearly 1,000 interviews and extensive evidence review produced no definitive motive and no credible evidence of co-conspirators as of that date. | Date-bounded investigative conclusion. |
| House Task Force | December 13, 2024 retrospective congressional review of planning, execution, leadership, staffing, communications, and protective coverage. | The attack was preventable and resulted from cumulative failures, including the failure to secure the outer threat area adequately. | Strong congressional finding on preventable security failures, not a motive finding. |
| Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | 2025 review of the security failures surrounding the attempt and reforms initiated afterward. | The attempt was described in testimony as a failure on multiple levels, with reforms documented after the attack. | Institutional accountability and reform assessment, separate from the FBI’s criminal and national-security investigation. |
The different conclusions are not contradictory. The shooting sequence and casualties are strongly established; Crooks’s motive remains unresolved; and multiple official reviews support the conclusion that security failures made the attack preventable.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Best Value
What remains unknown about the Butler assassination attempt?
The official record does not establish why Crooks selected Trump, what ultimately motivated him, or whether an ideological explanation exists. The FBI found evidence of preparation and reconnaissance, but the FBI did not identify a definitive motive in its August 28, 2024 briefing.
The FBI also had not uncovered credible evidence of co-conspirators as of August 28, 2024. That date must remain attached to the finding. Later investigative disclosures, litigation, disciplinary actions, declassification, or other official records could alter the historical record and should be checked before a future update.
Internet claims about hidden affiliations, an alleged staged event, or an established wider plot should not be presented as findings. The official investigations cited in this recap describe a real shooting, a deceased shooter, one attendee killed, two attendees gravely wounded, and serious but cumulative security failures. The official record supplied here does not establish those speculative claims.
Further reading
For a longer narrative account that combines eyewitness reporting with political and community context, see Salena Zito’s Butler. Hachette lists the book as a 256-page Center Street hardcover released July 8, 2025, and the book is a journalist’s nonfiction account rather than an official FBI or congressional report. The publisher’s listing for Butler provides the publication details.
The Bottom Line
The confirmed reconstruction is straightforward: on July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight rounds from a roof about 150 yards from Donald Trump’s Butler rally stage, grazing Trump’s right ear, killing Corey Comperatore, and gravely wounding David Dutch and James Copenhaver. The FBI did not establish a definitive motive, while congressional reviews found preventable, cumulative security failures.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
