Police tape blocks a street in Bethel Park, Pa., that they say is near a residence of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter of former President Donald Trump, Sunday, July 14, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Law enforcement officials tell The Associated Press that bomb-making materials were found inside the vehicle of the man suspected in the Trump rally shooting. There were also bomb-making materials found at his home.

The two officials were not authorised to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

On the heels of an apparent attempt to kill him, former President Donald Trump called Sunday for unity and resilience as shocked leaders across the political divide recoiled from the shooting that left him wounded but “fine” and the gunman and a rally-goer dead.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee said the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. His aides said he was in “great spirits” and doing well.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he wrote on his social media site. “Much bleeding took place.”

In a subsequent post on Sunday, Trump said “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”

“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win,” his post said.

The FBI early Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as it pressed its investigation. An FBI official said investigators had not yet determined a motive.

Secret Service agents fatally shot Crooks. The gunman attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue at a farm show in Butler, the agency said.

One attendee was killed, and two spectators were critically wounded, authorities said. All were identified as men.

Investigators believe the weapon had been purchased by Crooks’ father at least six months ago, two law enforcement officials said. Federal agents were still working to understand when and how his son obtained the gun and to gather additional information about Crooks, the officials said.

The officials were not authorised to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Rising political violence

The attack was the most serious attempt to kill a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. It drew new attention to concerns about political violence in a deeply polarized U.S. less than four months before the presidential election. And it could alter the tenor and security posture at the Republican National Convention, which begins on Monday in Milwaukee.

Organizers said the convention would proceed as planned.

Trump flew to New Jersey after visiting a local Pennsylvania hospital, landing shortly after midnight at Newark Liberty International Airport.

A video posted by an aide showed the former president leaving his private jet flanked by Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counter-assault team, an unusually visible show of force by his protective detail.

Biden, who is running against Trump, was briefed on the attack and spoke to Trump several hours after the shooting, the White House said. “There’s no place in America for this type of violence,” the president said. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”

Biden late Saturday cut short a weekend at his beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to return to Washington.

Many Republicans quickly blamed the violence on Biden and his allies, arguing that sustained attacks on Trump as a threat to democracy have created a toxic environment. They pointed in particular to a comment Biden made to donors on July 8, saying “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.”

Officials said the counter-assault team killed the shooter. The heavily armed tactical team travels everywhere with the president and major party nominees and is meant to confront any active threats while other Secret Service agents focus on safeguarding and evacuating the person at the center of protection.

Washington:

Melania Trump said Sunday that a gunman who opened fire at a Donald Trump rally was a “monster,” as she condemned the assassination attempt in which the Republican presidential candidate was injured.

“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion — his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration,” Melania Trump said in a statement shared on X.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the US Presidential poll, has been busy with the 2024 US Election Campaign. But if the 78-year-old becomes the President, he might not see his wife Melania Trump much in action.

Melania Trump has made a deal with the former US President, reported Page Six.

“Melania has made a deal with her husband that if he wins the presidency she will not have to be on first lady duty 24/7,” a source was quoted as saying. 

The report added that the former First Lady has made the deal as she wants to spend more time with her son Barron Trump. The 18-year-old will reportedly move to a University soon in New York City, and Melania Trump wants to help him adjust to the new life.

“She’s a hands-on mother, and is already planning to spend part of every month — and potentially every week — in NYC,” the source added. 

The source continued, “Barron has never been completely on his own before — and with the added stress of him being both a freshman in college and potentially the son of a president in a predominantly Democratic city, [Melania] wants to be close… The added attention he’ll get if his father is president worries Melania who is also concerned about the reaction at his school over Barron’s ever-present Secret Service [detail].”

Melania Trump has been “ an extremely protective mother” and she “even pushed back on the idea that Barron would serve as a Republican delegate to the [Republican National Convention] from Florida,” the report added. 

Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are polling neck and neck ahead of the November 5 vote as they attempt to woo any Americans still fine-tuning their decision.

Washington:

Donald Trump says his historic criminal trial was “very hard” on his wife Melania, a notable absentee from the close family members who attended court in support of the former president.

“She’s fine, but I think it’s very hard for her,” Trump said in an interview aired on Fox and Friends Sunday. “She has to read all this crap.”

“I think it’s probably in many ways, it’s tougher on my family than it is on me,” he added.

A jury convicted Trump Thursday on all 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign to cover up a sex scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels.

It was the first criminal conviction of a former president in US history and means Trump is now running in the November 5 presidential election as a felon.

While three of his adult children attended the closing days of the trial, Melania was absent throughout.

She has barely engaged with her husband’s White House campaign, failing to appear at a single Trump rally and rarely joins him in public.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

File photo of Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump.
| Photo Credit: AP

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, will not be a delegate representing Florida at the Republican National Convention in July due to prior commitments, the office of his mother Melania said on May 10.

On May 9, a campaign official said Barron Trump, 18, had been selected by the state party as a delegate from Florida, a notable move given that he has kept largely out of the public eye during the campaign.

“While Barron is honoured to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments,” Melania Trump’s office said in a statement.

In Florida, presidential campaigns submit a list of proposed delegates to the state party, which in this case would have included Mr. Barron Trump.

Delegates are allocated following primary contests in each state. While the rules are complex, delegates are typically assigned to represent a candidate at the convention, where the nominee is officially selected.

Mr. Donald Trump is set to face President Joe Biden in November’s presidential election.

Former United States President Donald Trump has spoken about his wife Melania’s absence from the 2024 presidential campaign. She was recently spotted on Easter Sunday at Mar-a-Lago with her son Barron Trump, where the entire family had gathered for brunch. However, she has been absent from the former US President’s campaign events and multiple court trials.

Her husband’s vote-casting in the Florida primary in February was their last election-related event together, as per a report in the Independent. When asked if was going to campaign with him for the November 2024 elections, she said, “Stay tuned”.

When her husband was campaigning in 2016 and 2020, Mrs Trump frequently stayed at home. She clarified that she wanted to be present for Barron, who was nine at the time, in an interview with 20/20 in 2015. Even after Mr Trump won in 2016, she did not move from the New York penthouse until June 2017.

Discussing her absence from the events, the 45th US President said that Melania Trump would return at an appropriate time. “She’s a private person, a great person, a very confident person, and she loves our country very much. She’ll be – at the appropriate time – she’ll be out there,” Mr Trump said during an interview with Meet the Press in September. Notably, Mr Trump also said that his wife “doesn’t need to be out there”.

Mr Trump had also suggested that keeping Melania out of the limelight during election campaigning was his decision. He said he wanted to “keep her away” from the campaign. “It’s so nasty and so mean,” he said.

In late March, a close aide to the first lady told CNN that Mrs Trump chooses when and how to show up to political functions. On the other hand, it seems that she will become more noticeable as the election approaches. She and her husband will also be hosting a fundraiser on Saturday in West Palm Beach. She will also be present on April 20 at a Mar-a-Lago event for the Log Cabin Republicans.

Her absence sparked “missing” posters to be posted online around the time of the Iowa caucuses. A picture of Mrs Trump with the words, “Have you seen this woman?  Where is our First Lady? Why is Donald Trump hiding her? We miss her. Please call 561-832-2600 if found” was shared widely. 

Donald Trump’s younger son Barron is making news after making a rare appearance with his parents on Easter 2024. The 18-year-old is busy with his college decisions but still took time out to for a family get together. Barron Trump was seen at the Mar-a-Lago club, walking side by side with his mother Melania on Sunday, March 31. The video was shared by Ron Filipkowski on his X account and was picked up by several other users. The Trump family had gathered at Mar-a-Lago for an Easter brunch.

Barron Trump wore a classy navy blue two-piece suit with a yellow tie and towered over her former model mother, who stunned in a mid-length white Alaia dress and pale pink heels.

Watch the video:

The First Lady and Barron Trump at the Mar-a-Lago today.

They seem to be in GREAT spirits.

God Bless them! pic.twitter.com/zEJADp0JnV

— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) April 1, 2024

Other members of the family who attended the event were Melania’s father, Victor Knavs, the former US president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump – along with his wife Lara and their children.

Who is Barron Trump?

Mr Trump married Melania (then Knauss) in 2005 and on March 20, 2006, she gave birth to Barron. He is Mr Trump’s fifth child and Melania’s first, according to People Magazine.

The outlet further said that Barron spent his childhood at his family’s lavish penthouse in New York and attended prestigious private schools in Manhattan.

When Mr Trump was elected US President and began his term in January 2017, Melania and Barron stayed back in Manhattan so that he could finish school. He officially moved into the White House a few months later.

In September 2023, in an interview with US journalist Megyn Kelly, Mr Trump praised his youngest son.

“Barron is a very good athlete. He’s a good kid. He’s a good-looking kid. He’s a great student,” he said.

When Mr Trump’s presidential term ended in 2021, it was revealed that Barron would be attending the Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida, where he will be graduating with the class of 2024. He turned 18 in March 2024.

President Joe Biden defended his mental fitness, pointing out his likely Republican challenger Donald Trump also gets things wrong.

During an appearance on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers broadcast early Tuesday, the president referred to reports Trump called his wife by a different name. It’s not clear if Trump was calling out to his wife or a former aide in the reported episode. Biden said what really matters is that the former president’s ideas are outdated.

“You got to take a look at the other guy. He’s about as old as I am, but he can’t remember his wife’s name, number one. Number two, it’s about how old your ideas are,” Biden said.

Biden, 81, has at times sought to parry questions about his age and mental acuity with humor. Yet he has struggled to allay Americans’ fears that he is unfit to serve four more years in the White House.

Three-quarters of voters, including half of Democrats, say they have concerns about Biden’s age, according to an NBC News poll taken in January. Less than half harbor similar concerns about Trump, 77.

Those worries were thrust to the forefront of the 2024 campaign earlier this month, when a Justice Department report on Biden’s handling of classified material referred to him as a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” Biden compounded the issue when he mixed up world leaders during a news conference responding to the report.

Biden’s campaign is betting that voters will look past their age concerns when they compare the president to Trump, who faces 91 criminal charges and has already been found liable for fraud, sexual battery and defamation in New York courts.

The president, the White House and his campaign have highlighted Trump’s right-wing views and outlandish statements.

“This is a guy who wants to take us back. He wants to take us back on Roe v. Wade. He wants to take us back on a whole range of issues that are 50, 60 years – they’ve been solid American positions,” Biden said.

Trump recently claimed his legal problems help him with Black voters, in comments that likened his legal jeopardy to the history of anti-Black bias in the criminal-justice system.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday denounced those comments, calling them “repugnant and divisive,” saying that it is “profane to compare the long, painful history of abuse and discrimination suffered by Black Americans to something totally different for self-serving purposes.”

Trump has also compared himself to the late Russian dissident Alexey Navalny. The former president, though, declined to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death. He also suggested he would let Russia invade NATO allies who have not met defense spending targets and mocked the military service of GOP rival Nikki Haley’s husband.

Biden also assailed Trump for describing “insurrectionists” arrested for joining the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol riot as “patriots” and for praising dictators.

“He thinks he can change the Constitution and just ignore parts of the Constitution. Here’s a guy who talks about retribution,” Biden said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)