USA Men's Basketball coach Steve Kerr referred to the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump as "terrible" and a "demoralizing day for our country" during the team's practice on Sunday (July 14) ahead of the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
"This is a time where we feel very proud to represent our country wearing USA on our chest, competing in the Olympics," Kerr said via ESPN. "We've talked to the players about how important it is to show the best version of us as human beings to represent our country in a respectful, dignified manner. It makes you want to do that even more so, because this is really shameful for us to sit here and think about what happened and what's going on in our country."
Kerr, an outspoken critic of gun violence in the past, is the son of Malcolm Kerr, who was killed by the militant group Islamic Jihad while serving as the president of the American University of Beirut.
"It's such a demoralizing day for our country, and it's yet another example of not only our political division but also gun culture," Kerr said via ESPN. "A 20-year-old with an AR-15 trying to shoot the former president. It's hard to process everything, and it's scary to think about where this goes because of the issues that already exist in the country. So this is a terrible day.
"Thank God Trump wasn't hit, but it's just so demoralizing in every which way."
Trump shared multiple posts on his Truth Social account after the shooting confirming he was "fine" and urging his supporters to "remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness." Police identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks late Saturday night. Crooks, 20, was reportedly on the roof of a manufacturing plant more than 130 yards away from the stage where Trump addressed his supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania, when he took fire at the former president and was immediately taken out by secret service snipers after opening fire.
The incident resulted in the death of one attendee and two others being critically injured.
"To the families of the innocent victims who are now suffering from this heinous act, I humbly offer my sincerest sympathy," Melania said in her statement. "Your need to summon your inner strength for such a terrible reason saddens me."
Crooks is reported to have donated $15 to the liberal ActBlue political action committee on the day of President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021, but later registered to vote as a Republican upon turning 18 in September 2021, according to records obtained and shared by the Intercept. A motive for the shooting was not determined when FBI officials identified the 20-year-old during an update late Saturday night.
The shooter's father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN that he was trying to figure out "what the hell is going on" after his son was identified by authorities. The elder Crooks said he wouldn't provide details about his son and wanted to "wait until I talk to law enforcement" before speaking out on the shooting incident.
Trump is scheduled to accept the Republican presidential nomination during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this week, where his wife is scheduled to make a rare appearance, though her role at the event has not yet been publicly determined.
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