There seems to be a dead person on a nearby roof, who the news is claiming was the shooter, with an interview with someone who was outside the event saying that they saw said rooftop-person get shot presumably by the secret service. https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c51yly4085lo
...honestly, if they're right about the person on the roof being the shooter, there was a serious fuck-up by event security.
"Take a look at what happened", then three initial shots, "Get down! Get down! Get down!", followed by four rapid shots, all likely from the shooter. Trump ducks after the third initial shot. They sound like "crack---boom" where the "crack" is the bullet passing the microphone and the "boom" is the gunfire arriving later due to speed of sound at distance from the shooter.
Immediately after, there is a three-round burst of automatic fire, then several seconds later there is a single silenced shot ("kill confirmed") all likely secret service.
I'd have to look at the audio waveform to distinguish whether the four rapid shots were the same shooter or return fire from secret service.
It seems like the first 3 and then next 5 (not 4) shots were from the shooter, and there was a single sniper shot returned by secret service immediately after (some echo made it sound like a 3 round burst in the first video), with the final follow up confirmation shot several seconds later.
More correctly: I'm concerned about the continuation of the very real right wing violence Trump's supporters have repeatedly demonstrated, as well as a potential escalation of that violence in retaliation for an assassination attempt (especially in the hypothetical where it had been successful) which was carried out by a person who hasn't been identified as being left wing or right wing, but who quite likely was left wing/will be assumed to be left wing regardless of who they turn out to have been and regardless of what their true motivations actually were.
Of course, it probably isn't as "interesting" when phrased that way but feel free to stick to the least charitable interpretation or phrasing you can think of if you need to.
EDIT: looks like they ID'd the shooter. Motivations are still being investigated but it appears that he's a Republican (according to state voter records). The closest thing I've seen so far to a sign that he hated Trump before the shooting was a one time $15 donation to ActBlue on Biden's Inauguration Day.
> EDIT: looks like they ID'd the shooter. Motivations are still being investigated but it appears that he's a Republican (according to state voter records).
He was registered as a Republican, but he also made a small donation to Democrats. As the NYT reports: [0]
> A voter-registration record showed that Mr. Crooks was registered as a Republican, though federal campaign-finance records show he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberal voter turnout group, through the Democratic donation platform ActBlue in January 2021.
State voter registration is pretty meaningless. Some people haven't voted for party X for years, but have never bothered to switch their voter registration away from it. Some people never really supported party X at all, but registered under it so they could vote in its primary (relevant in a closed primary state such as Pennsylvania)
I think we really need to hold off making assumptions about the shooter's politics were until we get some harder evidence.
One protest at congress and some nut picking does not equate to a summer of violent rioting and mainstream left-wing sources indulging in conspiracy theories (eg Russiagate and fine people) and repeating calling Trump a fascist and a threat to democracy.
