As of this writing, authorities were investigating the shooting at a Trump rally as an attempted assassination attempt. Officials told The Associated Press that Secret Service agents killed the shooter. However, the identity of the person in the photo was unknown, and there was no evidence to confirm or deny he used his gun, much less to prove he fatally shot someone.
On July 13, 2024, as authorities investigated what they believed to be an attempted assassination attempt against former U.S. President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a photo (archived) of an armed officer standing on the event's stage went viral. According to social media posts, he had allegedly killed "the shooter only seconds after he opened fire" and "saved Trump's life."
Evan Vucci, a photographer with The Associated Press, took the photo, and various news outlets published it. The AP captioned it:
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is covered by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci).
No other details were known about the photo, which appeared to show the immediate moments after gunshots rang out in the outdoor venue. It depicted U.S. Secret Service agents in the background piling on Trump, who was speaking at a lectern seconds earlier.
In other words, the identity of the armed officer on stage was unknown, and there was no evidence to confirm or deny he used his gun, much less to prove he fatally shot someone. He seemed to have a "POLICE" badge on his chest.
According to two officials who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity, the shooter was not an attendee at the rally and was killed by Secret Service agents.
A local prosecutor said the suspected gunman and at least one attendee are dead. The Secret Service said two spectators were critically injured. […]
The [anonymous] officials said the shooter was engaged by members of the U.S. Secret Service counterassault team and killed. The heavily armed tactical team travels everywhere with the president and major party nominees and is meant to confront any active threats while other agents focus on safeguarding and evacuating the person at the center of protection.
However, authorities had not released the name(s) or identities of agents who reportedly shot and killed the gunman.
We reached out to the Secret Service, as well as Vucci of the AP, to ask about the person photographed. We will update this report if we receive a response.