BUTLER TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Colorful flowers donated by supporters were on display in front of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department Thursday morning. Surrounded by the colorful flowers was a statue of a kneeling firefighter holding an American flag, with Firefighter Corey Comperatore’s fire suit placed behind the statue.
Over his work boots is a black Trump 2024 baseball cap that reads “Never Surrender.” The display is in memory of Comperatore, who was killed trying to shield his family from gunfire at a Donald Trump rally on Saturday. A steady stream of visitors has donated flowers and other items to the station. Comperatore’s friends and family gathered in Freeport, a small town on the Allegheny River, on Thursday to pay their respects. A funeral will be held Friday at the Butler County church he attended for many years.
Trump was speaking to a crowd of supporters at the Butler Farm Show in Pennsylvania when a gunman opened fire from the roof of a nearby building, and a bloodied Trump was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents.
Comperatore, 50, was killed and two rally attendees were seriously injured before a sniper shot him dead. Trump attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week with his injured ear bandaged.
Anatomy of a Tragedy:Graphics and maps showing how the attack unfolded
Crooks searched for “major depressive disorder.”
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that an FBI search of the phone of shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks found that Crooks had searched for images of President Joe Biden, President Trump and other prominent figures in the days before the shooting, citing U.S. lawmakers briefed on the investigation. Other targets of the searches included FBI Director Christopher Wray, Attorney General Merrick Garland and members of the British royal family, according to two officials who spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter publicly.
Fox News reported that investigators who examined Crooks’ laptop also found searches related to Trump, Biden, the date and time of the Democratic National Convention and a Trump rally on July 13.
Crooks also used his mobile phone to look up “severe depression,” according to the Times.
Was the Steam account for the online game fake?
Investigators believe an online gaming account in the name of the man who shot President Trump over the weekend is fake, CNN reports, citing US officials briefed on the matter. Multiple outlets, including CNN, Fox News and the Daily Mail, reported that Secret Service and FBI officials told US senators at a briefing on Wednesday that Matthew Thomas Crooks had posted on Steam “July 13th is my premiere date. Watch as it unfolds.” However, the officials told CNN that the FBI has revised that assessment.
According to the website, Steam is a popular platform where millions of gamers can communicate and access 30,000 games. Gaming platform Discord said Crooks was a user, but the company said it had found no evidence he used the platform to “plan this attack, incite violence, or discuss political views.”
Iran denies allegations of assassination plot:U.S. lawmakers criticize Secret Service response
Cheatle quizzed at Republican convention
On Wednesday, a group of US senators confronted Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, chasing her and demanding an explanation for the shooting. The four-minute video shows several Republican senators grilling Cheatle about security lapses at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, including one from Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming who asks, “Why would you allow the president to come on stage when you know there is a potential threat?”
Cheatle did not answer any questions during a call at the Republican National Committee’s hospitality suite for security partners. He told senators he was “happy to answer questions” but would do so “in an appropriate format.”
“Either resign or give us a full explanation right now,” Barrasso can be heard telling Cheatle in a video of the exchange posted to social media by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Read more here.
− Carissa Waddick and Savannah Kuchar
Senators question Secret Service directorTrump demands explanation for shooting
Social media reactions to shootings have consequences
A lecturer at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, was placed on unpaid leave for what university officials described as “offensive and unacceptable social media posts.” Hours later, John James was fired from the university, USA Today Network’s Louisville Courier Journal reported. Many have posted jokes and comments about the shooting on social media and suffered the consequences. Restaurant workers, a fire chief and a political adviser have also lost their jobs or resigned following backlash over their posts, according to employer statements and reports. Read more here.
“No matter how private your life is, there are always onlookers,” says psychologist Karen North, a professor of digital and social media at the University of Southern California, “and there are always onlookers when people behave badly.”
− Janine Santucci
People across the country lost their jobs.After posting about the Trump shooting
Shooting survivor’s family thanks emergency workers
The condition of injured rally attendees James Copenhaver, 74, and David Duch, 57, has improved from critical to severe, Allegheny General Hospital announced Wednesday. Duch’s family issued a statement thanking local residents and “countless others around the country and the world” for the support, prayers and encouragement they have shown the 57-year-old former Marine.
“David and our family would like to express special gratitude to all the emergency medical personnel and medical professionals who helped save his life, including the ambulance and trauma surgery teams at AGH,” the statement said. “As we focus on David’s recovery, we also offer our deepest condolences and prayers to the other victims and their families of this tragic incident.”.
Secret Service chief ‘needs to resign’Senators call for removal after Trump attacks report
Secret Service chief comes under fire
Following Wednesday’s briefing on the attack on Trump at a political rally in Pennsylvania, several Republican senators have called for new leadership of the Secret Service. “This was a complete and utter evasive briefing,” Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming wrote on X. “Someone died. The President was almost killed. The head of the Secret Service needs to resign.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on X that having new leadership at the Secret Service would be an “important step” toward answers and accountability. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) posted on X that “numerous” senators raised their hands to ask questions of the Secret Service during the briefing, but the call was cut off after only a few questions.
“There are so many smokescreens and so little accountability,” Lee said in the post.
− Tom Vanden Broeck, Josh Meyer, Aisha Bagchi
