REPUBLICAN presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Details are emerging about the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, along with concerns about lapses in security.

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, suffered a wound when a sniper fired several shots at the stage where he was speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

His right ear was struck and parts of his face were bloodied. Secret Service agents quickly shielded him with their bodies and hustled him from the stage; he pumped his fist defiantly.

The suspected gunner – identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Pennsylvania  – was shot and killed, perhaps by Secret Service counter-sniper fire.

Also killed was Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief attending the rally. Two other persons were wounded and listed in stable condition in a local hospital.

Authorities said that the rifle used by Crooks was an AR15-style rifle legally purchased and owned by his father.

The shooter was firing from the rooftop of a building about 400 to 500 feet from the stage, a distance of 133 feet (about the length of a football field, including the end zone) to 166 feet.

Some observers questioned how the shooter was able to get so close to the open-air event. The Secret Service is promising a “long investigation” into the event.

“In their defense,” said Lt. Col. George Givens of the Pennsylvania State Police, “It is incredibly hard to have a venue open to the public and secure against any possible threat against a very determined attacker.”

Biden: Let’s “lower the temperature”

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN (White House image).

President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office in the White House on Sunday and urged Americans to turn away from the political divisions that have arisen in recent years.
“We must lower the temperature in our politics,” he said. He spoke of being grateful that former president Donald Trump was not seriously wounded.

Citing a series of incidents in which public figures were attacked or intimidated,, he said, “There is no place in America for this kind of violence.”

He added, “We stand for an America not of extremism but of decency and grace.”  

He also noted that he was ordering an independent review of security measures at the rally where Trump was attacked.

GOP Convention starts Monday

FISERVE FORUM in Milwaukee, site of the 2024 RNC Convention (Wikipedia).

The Republican National Convention will start on Monday at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee for the purpose of formally choosing the party’s nominees for president – Donald Trump – and his as-yet announced pick for vice president.

Speakers will include former rivals Nikki Haley and RonDeSantis and the presidential and vice presidential nominees. The convention will conclude on Thursday.

In the wake of Saturday’s attempted assassination, the security perimeter around the site will be expanded.

Televised convention coverage will be provided by the major TV networks and some others.

Weather: Up, down, up

In our West Orange County area, the great outdoors seems to be settling into a familiar pattern of daytime temperatures bouncing up and down a bit. The forecast for Monday is for a daytime high of 83 with an overnight low of 64, dropping to 80 (64) on Tuesday. Then it hops up to 83 (66) for Wednesday and Thursday.