More disturbing footage and accounts continue to emerge from the assassination attempt against Donald Trump at his Pennsylvania rally on Saturday (July 13). A new clip going viral online shows how the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, crawled onto the roof of a building just outside of the rally’s perimeter, with attendees seemingly attempting to notify law enforcement of their suspicions. It’s a very harrowing and dark moment to witness, so viewer discretion is advised for the clip below. This adds onto the rampant search for more information on this attack, which left a rally-goer dead and two more injured.
As for Crooks, Trump’s attempted assassin was shot and killed within a minute of him firing his AR-15 from about 130 yards away. In addition, once information emerged about his identity and background, more folks and media publications came forward with details. One recent alleged report from The New York Post claims that Crooks’ high school rifle team rejected him, due partially to his poor accuracy. However, other supposed testimonies painted him as a bullied outcast who had odd interactions with his fellow schoolmates, coaches, and teachers.
Trump’s Shooter Crawls Onto Roof Before Attack
In addition to all this, Trump’s shooting caused a lot of debate when it comes to his presidential bid against incumbent Joe Biden, and around folks who vehemently oppose the former and convicted president politically. For example, DJ Akademiks recently blasted Amanda Seales for suggesting that Trump’s team staged all this. “Some of y’all are so into whatever political view y’all have, y’all dismiss reality,” he remarked. “B***h, wake up. There’s a f***ing whole investigation by the FBI outside in Butler. Drive over there and go see if they’re investigating staged s**t.”
Elsewhere in the hip-hop world, a lot of rappers clowned the former president for this or made light of the situation despite their sympathy. On the other hand, many of Trump’s MC supporters stood up to defend him amid others wanting to take this chance to criticize him. One of these defenders is Kodak Black, who recently clapped back at Plies’ takedown of No. 45. We’ll see how this debacle continues to spiral…
About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output.
Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond.
Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C.
His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.
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