UPDATE: The political leanings of the man the FBI identified as the shooter were not immediately clear

A shooting at Donald Trump‘s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania is being investigated as an attempted assassination of the former president and presumptive Republican nominee, law enforcement officials say.

One attendee was killed and two were critically injured. Trump said on social media that a bullet “pierced the upper part” of his right ear before agents whisked him off stage. 

The Secret Service said it killed the suspected shooter, who attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue.

Records show Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden was sworn in to office.

What to know:

• Latest on the shooter: The FBI named Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspected gunman behind the assassination attempt.
• Latest on the victims: State police have identified the person who was killed and two people who were critically injured — all adult males — but didn’t release names at a news briefing early Sunday.
• How the moment unfolded: Minutes after Trump had taken the stage, he was pointing to a chart on border crossings when at least five shots rang out.
• Biden’s response: In a televised address, the president said “everybody must condemn” the attack, he is relieved that Trump is reportedly “doing well”. His campaign said it’s pausing all messaging to supporters and is working to pull down all of its television ads as quickly as possible.

Trump campaign, RNC say convention in Milwaukee will ‘proceed’ after rally shooting, Trump looks forward to joining

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Couple recounts what the scene was like from the bleachers behind Trump

Chet Jack, a member of the state Republican Party and former Butler County Republican chairman, and his wife Beth were sitting in the bleachers facing Trump when they heard the shots.

Beth ducked after hearing the shots, feeling relieved for a moment when she thought it had ended — then she heard a second round of shots, which she guessed might have been aimed at the shooter.

“I couldn’t see what happened with President Trump, because the minute I heard a shot, I yelled, ‘Everybody get down!’” Beth said. “I knew that was a shot.”

The couple said they were within feet — less than 10 yards — of a man who was shot in the bleachers.

“Right after he got shot, everybody started screaming, ‘Medic!’” Beth said. “It was just hard because so many people were down, and you’re scared to death but at the same point, you want to know that he’s okay. But they did get somebody there right away.”

“There was a lot of blood,” Chet said.

While Beth and the crowd ducked for cover, Chet said he remained standing, looking for the shooter. He said he believed the shots were coming from above, and that ducking wouldn’t protect him.

“You can’t let these guys — these maniacs — terrify you,” he said.

Trump lands in New Jersey, plans to spend the night at his private golf club

BY ZEKE MILLER

Trump’s private jet landed shortly after midnight Sunday at Newark Liberty International Airport. 

Video posted by an aide showed the former president deplaning, flanked by U.S. Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counter assault team. 

It was an unusually visible show of force by his protective detail. 

Trump planned to spend the night at his private golf club in nearby Bedminster, New Jersey.

This appears to be the first assisnation attempt since Reagan was shot in 1981

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESSS

The attack, by a shooter who law enforcement officials say was then killed by the Secret Service, was the first attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.

The perils of campaigning took on a new urgency after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in California in 1968, and again in 1972 when Arthur Bremer shot and seriously hurt George Wallace, who was running as an independent on a campaign platform that has sometimes been compared to Trump’s.

That led to increased protection of candidates, even as the threats persisted, notably against Jesse Jackson in 1988 and Barack Obama in 2008.

Presidents, particularly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, have even greater layers of security. Trump is a rarity as both a former president and a current candidate.