What we know about the Trump rally shooter: Thomas Matthew Crooks
Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, has been identified by the FBI as the man responsible for the attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Claim: Photo shows Trump’s suit jacket pierced by bullet during shooting at Pennsylvania rally
A July 14 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of former President Donald Trump with blood running down his face and his fist raised while surrounded by Secret Service agents, with a yellow circle highlighting what appears to be a round, black spot on the former president’s suit jacket.
“By some miracle, President Trump is alive,” the post read in Spanish. “You can see that one of the bullets went through his body armor, which thankfully did not hit him. The other one just grazed his right ear.”
The post was liked more than 30,000 times in three days. Similar claims were made in English as well.
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Our rating: False
Comments from the former president shortly after the assassination attempt, as well as video and photographs of the moment, show that the bullet did not strike Trump’s torso or penetrate his jacket, and that a dark spot seen in the images appears to be part of a Secret Service agent’s suit.
No bullets penetrated Trump’s jacket
Trump was wounded in a videotaped assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. A gunman, later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire shortly after Trump’s speech began, wounding the former president and two other attendees and killing one man. Crooks was shot and killed by a Secret Service agent shortly thereafter.
After the shooting, Trump was bleeding from his ear, but his suit jacket was not pierced by a bullet, according to videos and photos of the incident and Trump’s own account of the attack.
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President Trump posted on Truth Social a few hours after the shooting, but made no mention of having been shot in the torso.
“I was shot above my right ear,” he wrote in part. “I knew right away something was wrong as I heard a whoosh and a gunshot and felt the bullet penetrate my skin. I was bleeding profusely and realized what was happening.”
A Secret Service statement following the incident also made no mention that Trump was shot in the body or that a bullet penetrated his suit jacket.
The circled black dot in the Instagram post appears to be part of the jacket of the Secret Service agent who wrapped himself around former President Trump in an attempt to protect him in the moments after the shooting.
Other images and video of the shooting show no signs of bullet holes in Trump’s suit jacket, and there have been no credible reports that his jacket was penetrated by a bullet.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Lead Stories also denied some of the allegations.
Fact Check Sources:
Donald Trump, July 13, Truth Social postSecret Service, July 14, Secret Service statement on violence at Trump rally on July 13, 2024USA TODAY, July 13, Photo: A bloodied Trump rushes off stage after assassination attempt at Pennsylvania rallyUSA TODAY, July 13, Video showing gunfire at a Trump rally in Butler shows him rushing off the stage
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