Donald Trump assassination attempt live updates: Would-be assassin’s ‘weapon of war’ revealed

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Pennsylvania, fired at Trump during the rally in Butler, just outside Pittsburgh, on Saturday, local time. He was shot dead by the Secret Service.

Corey Comperatore, 50, who served as the fire chief for Buffalo Township, was shot and killed by Crooks while reportedly trying to protect his daughter from gunfire.

Two other victims, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were critically injured in the shooting. Both are in a stable condition, police said.

Here are the latest updates.

‘Staged’: Celebrity’s conspiracy theory condemned

A celebrity has been roundly condemned after floating a preposterous conspiracy theory about the shooting, alleging the whole thing was “staged”.

Amanda Seales, who is also known by her stage name Amanda Diva, is an actor, writer and comedian best known for her role in the HBO TV series Insecure.

“That s*** was more staged than a Tyler Perry production of Madea Runs for President,” she said in a video posted on Instagram the day after Mr Trump was attacked.

“I lived in Harlem long enough to know that gunshots do not sound like making popcorn on the stove.

“Where did the blood come from? So in theatre, in movies, they have what’s called blood pellets. People use them for Halloween. It is basically a pellet of fake blood that is in your mouth and when you crush it, the blood comes out.

“To be frank, small hands Trump would not respond by raising his fist in the air triumphantly were an actual attempt made on his life. This was, I believe, done to try to show his strength (as a) counter to Biden’s fragility.”

Fellow social media users swiftly dunked on Ms Seales, though most of the posts are not particularly fit for publication.

In Australia, Sky News host James Macpherson said the actress had lost the plot.

“These people are so consumed with hate they’ve lost all contact with reality,” he said.

Trump has ‘historic opportunity to rise to the moment’

The New York Times has published an interesting discussion about the Republican National Convention, which starts on Monday, US time.

That discussion, between senior journalists and writers, includes the key question that’s arisen in recent days: how the assassination attempt will “shape or change” the convention.

“The key change will be in the intensity of the gathering. Expect to see an immense amount of anger and pride,” says David French, a conservative columnist (but a longtime critic of the Republican Party’s turn towards Mr Trump.

“Republicans are rightly proud of Trump’s immediate response to the shooting. His presence of mind to raise his fist to the crowd to signal that he was very much alive and defiant was an impressive act of leadership. And we should all feel angry when someone tries to assassinate a former president and current candidate.

“We also know, however, that anger can be dangerous, and we’re already seeing conspiracies emerging, including claims that Joe Biden is responsible for the assassination attempt.

“Our great national challenge will be responding to that anger, to keep it from spiraling out of control. The key player here will be Trump, of course, and his nomination speech may well be the most-watched address in a generation. He has a historic opportunity to rise to the moment - or pull us deeper into darkness.”

King writes private letter to Trump

Buckingham Palace has revealed that King Charles wrote to Mr Trump on Sunday, via the British embassy in Washington.

The letter itself has not been released to the public, and the monarch’s personal correspondence usually remains private, so we shouldn’t expect to learn exactly what Charles told the former president.

However, British media reports the sentiments are broadly in line with what the country’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said about the shooting.

“I am appalled by the shocking scenes at President Trump’s rally and we send him and his family our best wishes,” Mr Starmer said in a statement after the attack.

“Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”

The British PM has also spoken directly to Mr Trump to express his well wishes.