BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — Authorities, local, state, and federal, spent the night at the Butler County Farm Show grounds, combing for evidence.
By morning, as media from around the world converged on Western PA, it was clear the cops were searching rooftops along the perimeter of the grounds. Soon after sunrise, they announced that a firearm had been discovered.
The weapon was allegedly used in an assassination attempt on former President Trump Saturday evening. The former president was only slightly injured, but one spectator was killed and two others seriously wounded.
Trump, after receiving medical attention, arrived home at his country club in New Jersey overnight.
Newswatch 16 spoke with a volunteer with the Trump campaign who couldn't speak on camera but he told us he's worked a few rallies and Saturday's was different. Usually, he says there would be heavy construction equipment parked around the perimeter of the grounds. In this rally, though, he says there were people lined up right along the fence.
The young man, Thomas Crooks, lived in Bethel Park, a suburb of Pittsburgh, about an hour from the shooting scene.
Crooks was shot and killed at the farm show grounds.
By morning, authorities had descended on the neighborhood of Thomas Crooks, reportedly evacuating the homes of several neighbors.
For people in this quiet suburb, the sudden national attention was a lot to digest, "Just a great bunch of people, it's sad. It's sad for the United States. It's sad for this whole entire; it's just sad." "It's a very detrimental thing for the community. I mean, most of us here support Trump. So it was very scary to know that it was from here."
Crooks was a 2022 graduate of the Bethel Park School District.
In a statement, the school district expresses condolences to the victim who was killed and extends "Its sincere wishes for a speedy but full recovery for Mr. Trump."