Assassination attempt on Trump at rally: AR‑15 weapon used

During an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, there was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump. The attacker aimed a weapon at him, but the bullet only grazed the former US president's ear. According to preliminary reports, the assailant used an AR-15 rifle.

The attacker fired at Trump from the roof of an industrial plant building, about 394 feet away from the stage.

Representatives of the Secret Service reported that an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle was found next to the man's body, a common tool used by perpetrators of massacres in the United States.

The AR-15 is a lightweight, semi-automatic rifle developed by ArmaLite in the 1950s. As American media recall, this rifle and similar ones have been a flashpoint in the debate over gun use in the USA. Its frequent use in mass shootings has sparked numerous controversies over the availability of the AR-15 in the civilian market in the USA.

In 1994, a federal assault weapons ban was introduced in the USA to restrict the sale of assault rifles, including AR-15s and their derivatives, in the civilian market. However, the ban was circumvented by modifying the rifles to depart from the definition of an "assault rifle." This led to the ban being lifted in 2004.

On the night from Saturday to Sunday, the FBI reported that the assailant on Trump had been preliminarily identified.

The AP agency, citing police sources, reported that it was a 20-year-old man from Pennsylvania. The "New York Post," also citing sources, indicated that the 20-year-old's name was Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park. The motive was not disclosed.