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Find Your Base School

In Wake County, students are assigned to a base elementary, middle, and high school for their home address. Find your base school using our address look-up tool.

Year-round calendar track assignments

Find your base school.

All students register at their base school. Find your base school now.

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Enroll in wcpss, introduction to schools in wake county.

Enrolling in the Wake County Public School System is done online and finalized through your base school. Visit the link below to learn how to enroll and locate your base school. 

WCPSS Base Attendance Zones

You can find a comprehensive map of base attendance zones below. Beneath the map you will find middle school and high school maps as well. Please note this is not consistently updated and check your address on the address lookup tool it is the only guarantee.

Wake County Magnet Schools

Wake County has a nationally recognized magnet program. Though selections for Magnet Schools are completed by the end of January, families relocating to Wake County can move into the base area for a magnet school and take advantage of these amazing programs. Follow the link below to find out more about magnet options in Wake County. 

Magnets Map

Sometimes seeing it all on a map can really help you narrow down your choices. See the magnet elementary school map here  and the magnet middle school map here .

Charter Schools Map

Wake County has a robust charter school community. See top charter schools on the link below to see where they are located.  A full list of charter schools by town can be found under the school section on the menu. 

Best Private Schools in Raleigh

NICHE's list of top-ranked private schools in the Raleigh area. Click here to see their most recent rankings for K-12 private schools.

2021 Best Charter Elementary and Middle Schools

NICHE's 2021 list of top-ranked charter K-8 schools in the Raleigh area. Click the link below to see their most recent rankings for charter schools.

School Performance Results

The link below has the most recent school report cards for Wake County. All public charter and traditional public schools get state report cards so you can compare them apples to apples.  

Compare High School SAT Scores

Trying to find the best high schools? DPI releases a yearly SAT report for area high schools. Take a look  at Wake County and see which schools have the most impressive results. 

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How to Navigate the Wake County Public Schools System in Raleigh

If you are confused about the Wake County Public Schools System , we are grateful to have Libby Taylor, the founder of  SchoolUpWake , an independent education consulting business, here to help untangle the web of confusion.

Libby works with families in Raleigh and helps them navigate K-12 school choices for their children and is the person to go to if you’re not sure what type of school is right for you.

Libby brings a wealth of knowledge to this endeavor, with a career in education that includes both teaching in the public schools and providing professional development to teachers. 

We also recorded a very in-depth podcast chat with Libby to help you understand Wake County Schools more. You can listen at the bottom of this post.

But if you prefer to read, below we share some information on the different types of schools and what you can expect from each, as well as some things to consider when choosing the right school.

Types of Schools in Wake County

In North Carolina, most of our school districts are set up as county wide systems , rather than smaller township or municipal systems.

The Wake County Public Schools System (WCPSS) is one of the largest, as of 2024, it is the 15 th largest school district in the country , which is incredible.

Currently, there are 198 schools under the WCPSS umbrella , and the number of schools in Raleigh will continue to grow as Raleigh-Durham ranks as one of the fastest growing areas in the US. 

Like most school districts, each address has an assigned school which we call your base school . You can find your assigned school by using the address look-up tool on the WCPSS website.

Now, onto the types of schools in the Wake County…

Traditional vs Year Round Calendars

One of the most confusing aspects of the Wake County Public Schools system is that not all schools operate on the same calendar. Some schools are on a traditional calendar which means they start in late August and end in early June .

Many elementary and some middle schools operate on a year-round calendar , and a select few operate on a modified calendar .

Year-round calendars mean that students have scheduled breaks throughout the year rather than a full summer off. There are two types of year-round calendar; single-track and multiple-track.

Single-track means all students follow the same schedule, and multiple-track means that some students are on break while others are still learning, which is done to avoid overcrowding in school.

Modified calendars typically consist of nine weeks of school followed by a 5-to-8-day break.

Even if your school has a year-round calendar, they still get 180 days of learning, but shorter study periods to avoid burnout (for students and staff!).

Many states adopted the year-round calendar during COVID times and found it worked, so decided to stick to it. While it’s not the norm, it’s certainly more common in recent years.

Capped Schools

If you are moving to Raleigh, you need to be aware that many of our most crowded Wake County schools have enrolment caps. This is to offset the burden of overcrowding on the families relocating here rather than on current residents.

This means that they cannot guarantee you a seat in your base school when you buy a house. If a school has reached its enrolment, it’s called a Capped School , and your child may have to study at Overflow School while you wait for a place in your base school.

You can find a list of capped schools here . This list will remain the same until the next school year when the school board will reassess the options, so you don’t have to worry about a school becoming capped at any time.

My best tip as a realtor is to call the school before you put an offer on a house. The data manager at the school can talk to you about the waiting list and the overflow assignment.

Even if you’re happy to wait for a place at your base school, it’s important to know where the Over Flow school is and what it’s like.

Magnet Schools in Raleigh

Magnet schools are public schools and are part of the WCPSS, but have specialized themes that allow them to attract students from outside their base zone.

Themes range from leadership to creative arts, language immersion programs, international baccalaureate, and more.

Magnet applications can be submitted in the fall and winter for entrance during the following academic year. It’s not first come first serve, and places are either given by random selection, or for arts and creative schools, students may have to do an audition.

So take your time and tour schools you are interested in and give yourself plenty of time to prepare for the application process.

You can typically list up to five schools on your magnet application. Magnet schools in Raleigh still follow the same curriculum and state standards guiding public schools , but they can have varying instructional models depending on their theme!

Charter Schools in Raleigh

Charter schools are public schools that are not part of WCPSS and are independent . They still fall under the NC Department of Public Instruction, follow state education guidelines, accommodate special education needs, and are tuition-free!

Because charter schools are run independently, however, they can operate differently than most WCPSS schools. Many span additional grade levels, like K-8, and some require uniforms or even parent volunteer hours .

Admission into a charter school is done by general lottery (random selection). Typically they will have an open application period in the winter and then pull their lottery in March, but these times vary.

They are subject to the same state standards and their performance grades can be found alongside other public schools on the NC School Report Cards .

You can apply to multiple charter schools and will get 7-10 days to accept or decline your seat if you are offered admission.

Private Schools in Raleigh (faith based & non-faith based?)

Private schools are, as you probably already know, tuition based schools . These are independent from the public system and don’t necessarily follow the same curriculum, testing, and education standards.

Here in Wake County, we have a wide range of parochial (religious-based) schools as well as independent schools. The tuition can range from as low as $5,000 a year up to about $26k .

The admissions process for a competitive private school in Raleigh often starts in the fall and can include testing, interviews, recommendation letters, and more.

Some start in preschool and have limited seats in kindergarten, but many expand as grade levels increase. Compared to other areas of the country, I don’t think our schools have particularly long wait lists.

I do keep an open seat report in the summer for families moving to the area and looking for availability in private schools. 

Things To Consider When Choosing Schools

New families to Raleigh or families with rising kindergarteners can enrol in Wake County schools online, but remember you will need to be closed on your home before finalizing enrolment!

I highly recommend using the NC State Report Cards for data on Wake County school outcomes, rather than Great Schools.

You can also request a tour at most of our schools. Seeing a school in person is always the best way to confirm it’s a good fit.

Don’t let all the anecdotal stories scare you , reassignment isn’t as common as the Facebook comments make you think.

WCPSS works hard to keep kids in their schools and keep families on the same schedule but as a fast growing area, redistricting does happen!

Make sure you contact student assignment to know all your options for remaining in your current school. 

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Wake County Schools Podcast Episode

To learn more about the Wake County Public School System, you may want to listen to our podcast with Libby Taylor.

We talked about:

• Do Wake County Schools rank highly?
• How do you find out your base school?
• How do you enroll in your base school? Any deadlines?
• Do they have open houses, virtual information sessions?
• Year round vs. Traditional calendar
• How do I find out what calendar my base school is on?
• What is a capped school?
• How do I know if my base school is capped?
• What are overflow schools?
• How do you know what overflow school you would be assigned?
• Can you get on a waiting list at a capped school?
• What is a Magnet school?
• Do they offer different curriculum & focus to public schools? 
• Who can go to a magnet school?
• What is a Charter school?
• Who can attend a charter school?
• Do they follow same rules as public?
• Do they take state mandated tests?
• How do I enroll, what is the application process?
• Can my child enroll if the charter school is not located in the district where I live?
• What is the main difference between private & public schools?
• 1-2 top reasons parents choose a private school?
• Do costs vary? 
• Typical application process?
• How to start the school research process
• What resources are available online to compare schools?
• School report cards
• How can parents work with Libby to choose a school?

Listen to the podcast episode below…

For those who may prefer watching a video of us podcasting, we filmed that for you too, which you’ll find on  YouTube each week .

Watch our podcast interview with Libby Taylor

Final thoughts.

Deciding on schools is no easy task, and we all want what’s best for our kids and their education, so we hope this blog post helped you understand the different types of schools and school calendars.

Now you know a little bit about each type of school, you can start your search and narrow down the type of school that’s right for you.

I also hope the podcast interview with Libby helped you get your head around Wake County Public schools and what you can expect from them.

Back when we moved to Raleigh in 2004 and were enrolling our daughters into school, we found the whole concept confusing, so we are appreciative of Libby doing this interview and helping us unravel the mystery.

If you have any more questions about schools in Raleigh NC, and are looking for guidance in your school search, you can email Libby direct at [email protected]

About The Author

Craig Makepeace

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Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Investigators Unlock Gunman’s Phone in Search for Motive in Trump Shooting

The F.B.I. said it had gained access to the would-be assassin’s phone, but it was not immediately clear if it had yielded clues. The Homeland Security secretary said the Secret Service would beef up Donald Trump’s security.

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Glenn Thrush ,  Peter Baker and Jacey Fortin

Republicans call the Secret Service director to testify. Here’s the latest.

The F.B.I. said on Monday that it had gained access to data on the cellphone of the man who tried to assassinate Donald J. Trump, as investigators continued to search for a motive in the shooting at the former president’s weekend campaign rally.

Attention remained focused on the Secret Service’s apparent failure to secure the rally site in western Pennsylvania. The homeland security secretary, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, said that “adjustments have been made” not only to Mr. Trump’s protection detail but also to those of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential candidate, will now also be granted Secret Service protection.

As Mr. Trump’s nominating convention kicked off in Milwaukee, Republicans in Congress vowed to investigate the Secret Service’s decisions ahead of the shooting in Butler, Pa., that left Mr. Trump grazed by a bullet, a rally-goer dead and two others gravely injured.

Mr. Biden has called for an independent review of security measures before and after the shooting, and on Monday he and Ms. Harris received a briefing from homeland security and law enforcement officials. In a speech on Sunday night, the president said: “We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”

Here’s what else to know:

Republicans have called the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, to testify in Congress next week about the assassination attempt. Among the questions facing the agency are why it didn’t secure the building where the gunman fired from the roof, and whether its agents acted appropriately in the moments after the shooting.

Video taken by a bystander and analyzed by The New York Times shows people pointing to the suspected gunman and frantically warning law enforcement, two minutes before the first burst of gunfire rang out. The video adds to questions about how much warning time the Secret Service had before its agents shot and killed the gunman. A witness described watching the gunman get into position.

Federal law enforcement officials identified the shooter as a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pa. F.B.I. officials said they believe that he had acted alone but have repeatedly cautioned that they cannot rule out the possibility that he was connected with other people until they conclude their investigation.

Classmates who attended Bethel Park High School described the gunman in interviews on Monday as a smart but solitary and quiet student who did not want attention, walking through the halls with his head down and rarely raising his hand in class. Some students teased him, the classmates said.

Mr. Trump said he had thrown out the “tough speech” that he planned to deliver later this week at the Republican National Convention and was drafting one that was more unifying.

Convention officials said there was no need to strengthen security in the wake of the shooting because it was extremely tight already. But the Secret Service said the agency had altered Mr. Trump’s security detail “to ensure his continued protection for the convention and the remainder of the campaign.”

Glenn Thrush

Reporting from Washington

The F.B.I. is analyzing all of the gunman’s electronic devices, not just his phone, for evidence of his motive.

The motives of the young man who tried to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump remain a mystery, even after the F.B.I. gained access to his cellphone on Monday and began analyzing its contents for clues, law enforcement officials said.

Investigators hope the phone, which was password-protected, will help explain why Thomas Matthew Crooks, an unassuming 20-year-old from Pennsylvania with no criminal history or known strongly held political beliefs, would open fire at Mr. Trump at a rally on Saturday. The gunfire left the former president’s ear bloodied, killed a bystander and seriously injured two other people.

Technicians at the bureau’s lab in Quantico, Va., sifting through the gunman’s texts, emails and other data did not immediately find clear evidence of a potential motive, or significant new details about possible connections to other people.

The F.B.I., in a statement on Monday, cautioned that the investigation was still in the early stages. Technicians are in the middle of analyzing all of the gunman’s electronic devices, not just his phone, for his communications, browser history and social media activity, officials added.

As Mr. Trump’s attention shifted to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, dozens of agents and technical specialists in the Pittsburgh area scoured photos and videos taken by rally attendees and law enforcement personnel. The bureau has interviewed more than 100 people in the last two days, and completed a search of the gunman’s car and residence.

What they have assembled so far is less a portrait of him than an empty frame.

Records show that Mr. Crooks, a nursing home employee, registered to vote as a Republican. But people close to him have told investigators that he rarely spoke about politics, and even then did not seem to voice easily definable positions, according to a person briefed on the investigation.

While the bureau officials said they had found no evidence that the shooting was part of a larger plot, F.B.I. and Justice Department officials said they had not ruled out any scenario.

“While the investigation to date indicates the shooter acted alone, the F.B.I. continues to conduct logical investigative activity to determine if there were any co-conspirators associated with this attack,” the F.B.I. wrote in an email to reporters late Sunday. “At this time, there are no current public safety concerns.”

F.B.I. officials said Mr. Crooks did not have a history of mental illness or criminal activity.

He does not appear to have left behind any written statement that could easily explain his motivations or provide clues to any external connections or influences, according to a senior law enforcement official.

Along with his phone, investigators sent the AR-15-type rifle found near the gunman’s body — the weapon had been purchased by his father — to the bureau’s lab, as well as several explosive devices discovered in his car and home.

The homemade devices were believed to contain highly explosive material in relatively small amounts, according to a law enforcement official.

Amid increased scrutiny of security lapses that allowed the gunman to come within inches of ending Mr. Trump’s life, videos and photographs taken at the scene provided new details of the moments leading up to the shooting.

Footage by one bystander shows people apparently pointing to someone and alerting the authorities, minutes before the first burst of gunfire rang out, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

“Someone’s on top of the roof,” one person is heard saying. “There he is, right there.”

“He’s on the roof!” says another, warning an officer. “Right here, right on the roof.”

According to the video, the gunman was lying prone on the white roof of a structure, which The Times previously identified as the location from which the deadly fusillade rang out moments later. The gunman’s position was about 450 feet from the stage where Mr. Trump was delivering his speech, but the building was outside the security perimeter of the rally.

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Chelsia Rose Marcius ,  Nicole Hong ,  Jack Healy and Steve Eder

Chelsia Rose Marcius reported from Bethel Park, Pa.

Classmates of the gunman said he ‘didn’t want attention’ in high school.

Before he climbed onto a rooftop and added his name to America’s bloody history of would-be presidential assassins, Thomas Crooks, 20, seemed to try to shrink from view.

Jim Knapp, who was the gunman’s guidance counselor at Bethel Park High School in the suburbs south of Pittsburgh, said Mr. Crooks chose to sit by himself at lunch in the cafeteria and look at his phone, instead of joining other students.

”He just wanted to stay by himself,” Mr. Knapp said.

In interviews on Monday, former classmates had similar recollections. They described Mr. Crooks as a smart but solitary student who walked through the halls with his head down and rarely raised his hand in class. But they said he did not make threats or act violently.

“He didn’t want attention, good or negative,” said Julianna Grooms, 19, who first remembered seeing Mr. Crooks when they were freshmen.

She and other former classmates have spent days texting one another, looking at old high-school photos and racking their memories for some clue about why Mr. Crooks opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, killing one attendee, critically wounding two others and grazing former President Donald J. Trump in the ear. Mr. Crooks was shot and killed by the Secret Service.

On Monday, federal investigators did not provide any new answers about the gunman’s motives or ideology, but said they had been able to access to Mr. Crooks’s cellphone and were analyzing it, along with his other electronic devices.

The F.B.I. said it had finished searching the gunman’s home and car, and had interviewed nearly 100 rally attendees, law enforcement officers and other witnesses and received hundreds of photos and videos from the rally and other digital tips.

“That work continues,” the F.B.I. said in a statement. “The investigation is still in the early stages.”

Investigators have said that Mr. Crooks had not been on their radar, and had not revealed any strongly held political beliefs in the posts and texts investigators have reviewed so far.

Mr. Crooks had lived in Bethel Park, the son of two licensed counselors. Jennifer Meredith, a cousin, recalled him as a quiet boy who listened to his parents, but she added that she had not seen Mr. Crooks since he was about 6 years old.

The gunman’s father, Matthew Crooks, registered a family coat of arms online, and said in a biographical statement that he had attended local universities, and was married with a son and daughter. He said that “family is very important to me,” and the design on his coat of arms reflected “the interconnectedness and unity found within the family.”

Ms. Grooms, the gunman’s former classmate, said she did not remember Mr. Crooks from elementary school or middle school, and said she believed he attended a different middle school than most of the students at Bethel Park High School. The Bethel Park School District confirmed that Mr. Crooks graduated from high school in 2022, but declined to release any other details about his school record.

He seemed to stand out when they were freshmen, dressed in wide-legged jeans and SpongeBob T-shirts, Ms. Grooms said. She said some students teased him about his hygiene and awkward, solitary bearing.

“Those other kids would always say, ‘Hey, look at the school shooter over there!’” Ms. Grooms said. “They would tease him about his poor hygiene, his body odor. He was an easy target.”

Eventually he started wearing neutral-colored clothing, she said, and T-shirts with American flags. He sometimes wore camouflage, but so did many other students in a school with a rifle club, and in a region where hunting is a popular pastime.

“He was a very good student,” said Mr. Knapp, who retired two years ago as a guidance counselor. He noted that Mr. Crooks had been enrolled in some honors and Advance Placement classes. “Not once did he ever get in trouble.”

Mr. Knapp said Mr. Crooks sat alone in the cafeteria on his phone because his small group of friends had other lunch periods. “He liked the idea of being by himself because that was his human nature,” Mr. Knapp said.

He also disputed the suggestion that Mr. Crooks had been picked on, saying that the school paid close attention to students’ mental health. “He wasn’t being bullied,” he said.

Anna Dusch, 20, took an Advanced Placement American government class with Mr. Crooks during their senior year, after classes had returned to normal following the pandemic-related disruptions of virtual learning, staggered classes and masking.

She said that Mr. Crooks always seemed to know the class material, but never revealed any political views in class.

“I would’ve never known who he was voting for,” she said. “He seemed to be really intelligent. If there was a fact to be said, he knew it.”

She said that Mr. Crooks seemed to keep to himself, but never gave her any reason to worry.

“He was a little bit odd, but I never would’ve suspected this,” she said. “I don’t think any of us knew who he was.”

Jill Bortz, 56, whose son attended high school with the gunman, said that school closures during the pandemic had taken a toll on Bethel Park’s class of 2022.

“Their class was so traumatized from it. All of these kids were really isolated,” she said. “Those are the prime years. That’s not going to work for every kid, you know?”

Mr. Crooks does not appear to have gone far from home after he graduated from high school in 2022. He had been working as a dietary aide at a nursing home in Bethel Park, and received an associate degree in engineering science two months ago from the nearby Community College of Allegheny County.

He was registered to vote as a Republican, but federal campaign-finance records show he also donated $15 to a progressive cause in January 2021. His mother was registered to vote as a Democrat, and his father as a Libertarian.

The father and son seemed to share an interest in guns.

Mr. Crooks had been a member of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, a gun club that features a 200-yard-rifle range.

Federal investigators said that his father purchased the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting, but said they did not know whether the gunman had taken the weapon without his father’s permission.

An email address linked to his father was used to open an eBay account that made at least a half-dozen purchases from different online vendors that sold gun parts, including some within the last six months. It was not clear what was bought from the vendors.

A representative for one of the vendors, Osage County Guns in Wright City, Mo., confirmed that the account had made one purchase “very long ago” that was unrelated to any type of rifle, but declined to specify the exact item. EBay’s online policy says that vendors are prohibited from listing firearms or any parts and accessories for assault weapons.

Another email account linked to the gunman’s father left a Google review seven months ago for an online guns business, praising it as “the easiest best way to get rid of unwanted firearms.”

The eBay account linked to Matthew Crooks also shows a long list of purchases from businesses that sell coins, gold bars and silver dollars.

Michael Rothfeld and Aric Toler contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy and Julie Tate contributed research.

Christina Morales

‘He’s got a gun!’ A witness describes watching the would-be assassin get into position.

Nathan Steadman and his daughter live not far from the farm show grounds in Butler, Pa., where former President Donald J. Trump held a campaign rally on Saturday. The two were looking to spend some time together, so they decided to check it out.

Without tickets, they joined a crowd hanging out under a tree with a view of the rally, taking photos and videos, Steadman, 45, a senior account manager at a consulting firm, said in an interview on Monday.

Within minutes of Mr. Trump taking the stage, Mr. Steadman said, he noticed people pointing at a nearby warehouse building, and he went to take a closer look. The people who were pointing said someone had gone to find a police officer, who said he couldn’t see anyone up there.

Then, Mr. Steadman said, he saw the gunman crawl across the roof and pull out the black barrel of a gun. Mr. Steadman looked at his daughter, who was about 30 feet away, and screamed: “He’s got a gun!” His voice can be heard in a bystander video that has been repeatedly featured in news reports.

The gunman then rolled over onto his back, Mr. Steadman said, and fired two shots toward the other end of the building he was on. Mr. Steadman ran, and heard another flurry of gunshots seconds later, he said.

The Secret Service and local police agencies are facing intense questions about how the gunman was able to get in position to fire at Mr. Trump. President Biden has requested an independent review of the security precautions, and Republicans in Congress plan to hold a hearing next week.

The building where the gunman positioned himself was outside of the perimeter, which meant it would have been secured by local law enforcement.

Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service’s spokesman, acknowledged on Sunday that before the shooting occurred, civilians reported spotting someone suspicious to the local police. Quickly thereafter, the man opened fire and was killed by a Secret Service counter sniper. The gunman, Mr. Guglielmi said, was not “camped out” on the roof.

Thinking back, Mr. Steadman wondered why he, his daughter and the other spectators without tickets were allowed to watch from under the tree outside the secure perimeter of the event.

“We never should have been allowed to go where we were,” he said. “Why that building was not secured, it makes no sense.”

Eileen Sullivan contributed reporting.

Thomas Gibbons-Neff

The gunman wore a T-shirt from a popular gun-themed YouTube channel.

The last shirt worn by the 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday was a T-shirt officially sold by Demolition Ranch , a gun-themed YouTube channel.

On Saturday, Demolition Ranch’s Facebook account posted a picture of a camouflage-clad law-enforcement officer standing over the gunman’s body with the caption: “What the hell.” Just visible on the gunman’s shirt was the American flag on his right sleeve and the partial spelling of DEMOLITIA, a word commonly used in the channel’s merchandise and branding.

The shirt’s description on the website that sells Demolition Ranch merchandise calls it “the official DEMOLITIA T-shirt,” inviting people to “buy yours today and join the DEMOLITIA.”

Matt Carriker, the creator of Demolition Ranch who has been making YouTube videos for over a decade, said on X that he was “just in disbelief” following the assassination attempt and the appearance of his apparel in the news media.

“Sucks seeing articles about this and they are naming 3 people,” he posted on Sunday. “The shooter, trump and somehow me.”

Little was immediately known about the shooter’s relationship with guns. But Demolition Ranch is a well-known YouTube channel with over 11 million subscribers, one of many similar channels known as guntubers. Videos include gun-themed experiments, like shooting watermelons or ballistic dummies, and slick Hollywood-style videos that almost look like action movies.

As military-themed gun content, including video games and movies, lost their appeal as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dragged on, guntubers formed a sort of online bridge between military-themed footage and lighthearted content.

Now, some guntubers make thousands of dollars per video as they showcase different firearms and highlight lucrative sponsorships. And like many social media influencers, guntubers like Demolition Ranch often collaborate with others in their sphere and have fervent followings.

Annie Karni

Since the assassination attempt, few lawmakers have called for tougher gun laws.

When James Brady, a presidential aide, was shot during the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, the moment sparked a national movement to confront gun violence.

In the 48 hours since former President Donald J. Trump was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania and a supporter in the crowd was killed, Democrats have spoken out about the plague of political violence in the United States and the need for civility and respect in American politics. But notably missing has been any concerted outcry from elected officials to implement tougher gun laws.

“We cannot — must not — go down this road in America,” President Biden said in an Oval Office address on Sunday in which he focused on a unifying message to the country, steering clear of any mention of the intractable issue of guns. “Violence has never been the answer.”

Many Democratic lawmakers, who are normally quick to respond to such tragedies by calling for stricter gun safety measures, were notably quiet on the topic. Gun safety activists said the muted reaction was disappointing.

“It’s deeply concerning that our leaders aren’t responding to this horrific act of political violence with urgent calls for prevention,” said T. Christian Heyne, the vice president for policy at the Brady: United Against Gun Violence organization.

He added: “This assassination attempt was enabled by easy access to a military-style rifle, used precisely as it was designed. Today’s muted response reflects a dangerous normalization of political violence and gun threats.”

An AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle — one of the most ubiquitous weapons in the United States and one commonly used by mass shooters — was recovered by law enforcement at the scene of the attempted assassination of Mr. Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. Little was known about the gunman, leading to some uncertainty about which gun safety issues were directly implicated.

Still, the lack of such details has seldom stopped members of Congress from responding to gun violence with renewed calls for tougher firearm safety measures. Some speculated that the difference now was that at a time of national trauma, when elected officials are trying to focus on what unites the country, calling for policies that the overwhelming majority of Republicans vehemently oppose could be seen as divisive and counterproductive.

A few of the strongest proponents of stricter gun safety policies did not shy away from the issue following the attempt on Mr. Trump’s life.

“Our nation simply does not have to hand assassins and mass murders the weapons that make the slaughter possible,” Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and the lead voice on gun safety issues in Congress, wrote on social media. “You don’t have a plan to end mass shootings or political violence if your platform seeks to make it easier for killers to get high powered military weapons.”

Mr. Murphy helped to spearhead a bipartisan gun safety bill enacted in 2022 that aimed to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous people ; lawmakers tried but failed to get Republicans to agree to add a ban on the sale and possession of assault weapons for individuals under the age of 21. The National Rifle Association lobbied hard against that provision.

In a statement, Everytown for Gun Safety, the leading gun control counterweight to the N.R.A., wrote: “No one is immune from experiencing gun violence. When guns are everywhere, for anyone, with no questions asked — no one is safe.”

Some Democrats privately said that even an assassination attempt on the leader of the Republican Party was likely to only further cement the longtime congressional gridlock on guns . They compared it to the Republican reaction to the 2017 shooting of Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana, who was gravely wounded when a gunman opened fire on a congressional softball practice in Virginia.

After that shooting, Republicans doubled down on the need to loosen gun laws , introducing legislation to allow members to carry a concealed weapon anywhere except in the Capitol and in the presence of the president or the vice president.

An earlier version of this story misidentified a leading gun control group. It is Everytown for Gun Safety, not Everytown for Gun Violence.

How we handle corrections

Tiffany Hsu ,  Sheera Frenkel and Ken Bensinger

Tiffany Hsu and Sheera Frenkel report on online disinformation. Ken Bensinger reports on politics.

Conspiracy theories about the shooting quickly erupted online.

Four minutes after the first report of a shooting at a rally for Donald J. Trump on Saturday, an anonymous account on X posted, “Joe Biden’s antifa shot President Trump.”

Within half an hour, another account on X with links to the QAnon conspiracy theory claimed without proof that the attack against Mr. Trump had most likely been ordered by the Central Intelligence Agency. Shortly after that, the far-right activist Laura Loomer posted on X about some recent remarks that President Biden made about Mr. Trump and then wrote, “They tried to kill Trump.” She did not provide evidence.

An hour later, with official details of the assassination attempt still scant, the narrative that President Biden and his allies had engineered the attack on Mr. Trump was being amplified by Republican lawmakers, Russian sympathizers and even a Brazilian political scion. By the time 24 hours had elapsed, posts about the unverified claim had been viewed and shared millions of times.

The idea that President Biden was behind the shooting of Mr. Trump was perhaps the most dominant conspiracy theory to emerge after the attack in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. The unproven conjecture surfaced almost instantly, hardened into a narrative and then catapulted between platforms large and small, even as information about the incident was limited. It was a striking example of the speed, scale and stickiness of rumors on social media, which often calcify into accepted truth far more efficiently than efforts to debunk or pleas for restraint .

That the subject this time was Mr. Trump, who frequently claims to be victimized by powerful forces while demonizing his enemies , only helped fuel the conspiracy theory. Its acceleration was also enabled by years of distrust stemming from tales of shadowy cabals of elites — which Mr. Trump has called “the deep state” — engaged in nefarious plots.

“The result was a perfect storm of righteous fury, blame-casting and conspiratorialism, at a moment when absolutely everyone was paying attention,” said Emerson Brooking, a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, who studies online ecosystems.

Baseless claims of a left-sanctioned hit job on Mr. Trump were only part of “a massive online spread of false claims” about the shooting, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a nonprofit research group. References to false assassination narratives amassed more than 100 million views in 24 hours on X alone, the group said on Monday. That far exceeded the 35.1 million views for content related to false flag rumors and other conspiracy theories after a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.

Other unsubstantiated theories about the shooting were fueled in part by left-wing accounts, including that Mr. Trump had deliberately staged the shooting to improve his election chances, slashing his ear with a hidden razor, popping a concealed blood capsule or otherwise fabricating a fake gunshot wound. Fingers were also pointed at other imagined culprits, including the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, Jews , trans people and Ukrainians.

But the unverified story line that President Biden and the Democrats were responsible stood out. According to the data firm PeakMetrics, the largest portion of discussion about the shooting on X and Telegram in the first seven hours — about 17 percent — involved expressions of solidarity and prayers for Mr. Trump. The next largest chunk, about 5 percent, accused Democrats of instigating the violence.

On July 12 and July 13 — the day of the shooting — there were 83,000 mentions on X of the phrase “inside job,” a 3,228 percent increase compared to the 48-hour period immediately prior, according to NewsGuard , which monitors online misinformation.

In a statement, a Biden campaign official said that after “this horrifying attack, anyone — especially elected officials with national platforms — politicizing this tragedy, spreading disinformation, and seeking to further divide Americans isn’t just unacceptable — it’s an abdication of leadership.”

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Adam Berinsky, a political science professor and misinformation expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the rapid spread of conspiracy theories online reflected widespread political division.

“It says a lot about our current political moment that the politicization at the extremes is the natural default,” he said.

The timeline of the conspiracy theory focused on Mr. Biden and the Democrats’ culpability was documented by think tanks, private companies that monitor misinformation and research groups, including Advance Democracy, the Anti-Defamation League, the Atlantic Council and Cyabra.

The first signs of that unproven idea emerged minutes after gunshots sounded at Mr. Trump’s rally on Saturday.

6:11 p.m.   Gunshots ring out.

6:15 p.m.   An anonymous X account pointed fingers at Mr. Biden’s “antifa,” a reference to the loosely organized left-wing anti-fascist movement, for the attack.

6:33 p.m.   A pro-police group with 107,000 followers on X criticized “those who have been using inflammatory, dehumanizing rhetoric creating an atmosphere for violence.”

6:45 p.m.   Laura Loomer wrote on X about President Biden’s comment to donors earlier in the week that “it’s time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye.” She did not mention that Mr. Biden had made the remark as part of an appeal to pivot public focus away from his disastrous debate performance last month and toward his political rival.

Minutes later, Ms. Loomer, who has just under one million followers on X, said that “they tried to kill Trump,” suggesting that the attack was arranged by the Democrats to take attention away from Mr. Biden’s age.

“Do I think the rhetoric led to this? Yes, I do,” Ms. Loomer said in an interview on Monday. “A bull’s-eye is a target. It doesn’t matter if it’s a different context, it’s the imagery.”

7:12 p.m.   Only an hour had passed when the oldest son of Jair Bolsonaro, the far right former president of Brazil whom Mr. Trump had endorsed, weighed in. Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on X that “the left” tried to kill Mr. Trump.

8:30 p.m.   At least six Republican members of Congress had blamed the assassination attempt on rhetoric from Democratic politicians and the media. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, who was named by Mr. Trump as his vice-presidential pick on Monday, wrote on X that the language used by the Biden campaign “led directly” to the shooting.

Some of the conservative voices who lodged the accusations against the president and other Democrats have long histories of aggressive rhetoric themselves. Ms. Greene repeatedly called for executing Democrats before she was elected to Congress. Mr. Collins has endorsed violence toward immigrants. Several, including Ms. Greene and Mr. Vance, are scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.

Outside the convention on Monday, Senator Steve Daines, a Republican of Montana, said the speculation online was “not helpful,” adding that “I see no evidence of” Mr. Biden or other Democrats inciting violence.

The conspiracy theories have since continued evolving.

One strain focused on accusations that Mr. Biden’s team had rejected earlier requests to bolster Mr. Trump’s protective detail, which have been denied by a Secret Service spokesman .

Video clips of Candace Owens, a conservative political commentator, declaring that the shooter “was allowed to scale that roof” have also drawn hundreds of thousands of likes on TikTok and Instagram. Similar claims surfaced on the video platform Rumble.

By Monday, some social media accounts were hawking merchandise promoting the conspiracy theories. T-shirts with images of a bloodied Mr. Trump raising his fist , with the words “Not Today Deep State,” were on sale on Truth Social. On TikTok, baseball caps with “STAGED,” using the same image of Mr. Trump, were also on offer for $25.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs

The shooting was a security ‘failure,’ the homeland security secretary says.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said on Monday that the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump was a “failure” of security, as the Secret Service confronts scrutiny over its efforts to protect government officials.

“An incident like this cannot happen,” Mr. Mayorkas told CNN, adding: “When I say something like this cannot happen, we are speaking of a failure.”

The comments, from the head of the department that oversees the Secret Service, came after President Biden called for an “independent review” of the security planning for the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., where the shooting occurred on Saturday.

The Secret Service is facing intense questions over the security perimeter at the rally, which did not include a warehouse roof where the would-be assassin fired shots at Mr. Trump. The gunman, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pa., was killed.

The Secret Service has said that the warehouse was outside its perimeter, meaning that local law enforcement had responsibility for sweeping and securing the building. But former federal law enforcement officials have said that the Secret Service — whose foremost responsibility is protecting current and former U.S. leaders — should have ensured that building was secured before the rally took place. The agency often relies on local law enforcement for security at events.

Mr. Mayorkas also rejected accusations from some Republicans that his department had denied a request by Mr. Trump’s security detail for more resources from the Secret Service. “That’s a baseless and irresponsible statement and it is one that is unequivocally false,” Mr. Mayorkas said.

Later on Monday, addressing reporters at the White House, Mr. Mayorkas offered few details of the independent review Mr. Biden had ordered but committed to it being conducted “externally of the government.” He said that since the shooting, Mr. Trump’s Secret Service protections had been “enhanced” and “adjustments” made to those of Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He said that Robert F. Kennedy, the independent presidential candidate, would be granted Secret Service protection for the first time.

He also expressed support for the agency and for its director, Kimberly Cheatle, saying: “I have 100 percent confidence in the director of the United States Secret Service. I have 100 percent confidence in the United States Secret Service.”

Privately, some agents have complained that Ms. Cheatle has not been seen prominently since the shooting. On Monday morning, Ms. Cheatle released a statement saying that the agency was coordinating with the protective details of both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden.

“Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter-sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former President Donald Trump,” Ms. Cheatle said in the statement.

She added that the agency was working with federal and local law enforcement to “understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again.” The Secret Service would cooperate with any congressional investigations, she said.

On Sunday, the Secret Service sent a memo to its agents reminding them to retain text messages sent around the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement officials who dictated the memo to The New York Times. The Homeland Security’s inspector general found in 2022 that text messages sent and received by Secret Service agents around the time of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol had been erased.

Peter Baker contributed reporting.

Peter Baker

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, did not answer directly when asked if President Biden regretted any of his rhetoric on the campaign trail. But she indicated that he would continue to criticize Donald Trump. “Nothing different than what he’s done in the last almost four years,” she said, adding, “It is OK to speak to someone’s record and someone’s character.”

Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary, expressed support for the embattled Secret Service and Kimberly Cheatle, its director: “I have 100 percent confidence in the director of the United States Secret Service. I have 100 percent confidence in the United States Secret Service.”

Mayorkas had few details of the independent review that President Biden has ordered, but said he planned to reach out soon to people he hoped would lead it and committed to it being conducted “externally of the government.”

Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary, said that Robert F. Kennedy, the independent presidential candidate, will be granted Secret Service protection, and that protection of Donald Trump will be “enhanced.”

Mayorkas said that both Trump and President Biden are “constantly the subject of threats.” He said that since Saturday’s shooting, “adjustments have been made” not only to Trump’s protection detail, but to those of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as well.

F.B.I. technicians have managed to gain access to the data on the cellphone of the 20-year-old Pennsylvania man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump, the agency just announced. But it is not clear if what they obtained has provided evidence of the gunman's motive, according to a senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the situation.

In a brief update, the F.B.I. said agents had fully searched the gunman's car and residence, conducted nearly 100 interviews of “law enforcement personnel, event attendees and other witnesses,” and received “hundreds of digital media tips,” including photos and videos.

Luke Broadwater

At least three congressional committees announce inquiries in the assassination attempt.

Members of Congress pressed for answers from the Secret Service on Monday about how a gunman got within 500 feet of former President Donald J. Trump before opening fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, quickly ramping up a series of investigations into the matter.

At least three congressional committees said they had begun preliminary inquiries, and some lawmakers called for an independent commission to oversee them. High-level talks were underway about what path the investigations should take. And the House Oversight Committee announced that the first hearing would occur next Monday, when Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, is scheduled to testify.

“The American people deserve to know the truth,” Speaker Mike Johnson wrote on social media shortly after the assassination attempt on Saturday evening. In addition to Ms. Cheatle, he said lawmakers would ask “appropriate officials” from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, and the F.B.I. to appear at a hearing “ASAP.”

The Secret Service was scheduled to brief members of Congress on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the plans. Lawmakers are already criticizing the agency for allowing the attempt on the former president’s life.

“The United States Secret Service has a no-fail mission, yet it failed on Saturday when a madman attempted to assassinate President Trump, killed an innocent victim and harmed others,” Representative James R. Comer, Republican of Kentucky and the chairman of the Oversight panel, said in a statement. “We are grateful to the brave Secret Service agents who acted quickly to protect President Trump after shots were fired and the American patriots who sought to help victims, but questions remain about how a rooftop within proximity to President Trump was left unsecure.”

Later Monday, Mr. Comer also demanded that Ms. Cheatle produce a trove a documents by Thursday, including a complete list of all law enforcement personnel with roles in protecting Mr. Trump in Butler; all audio and video recordings in the Secret Service’s possession related to the rally; and any memos Ms. Cheatle issued to agency personnel regarding the assassination attempt.

The House Homeland Security Committee was also investigating. Representative Mark E. Green of Tennessee, its chairman, demanded that the Secret Service turn over documents to his committee by Friday.

In a letter to Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, Mr. Green asked a series of questions about the shooting and the agency’s preparedness. Mr. Green requested the agency’s security plan for the event and all documents and communications — including text messages and emails — among federal law enforcement regarding Mr. Trump’s security.

“The seriousness of this security failure and chilling moment in our nation’s history cannot be understated,” Mr. Green wrote. “No assassination attempt has come so close to taking the life of a president or presidential candidate since President Reagan was shot in 1981. Had the bullet’s trajectory been slightly different, the assassination attempt on President Trump might have succeeded.”

Mr. Green spoke with Ms. Cheatle on Sunday and with a top official from the F.B.I. Monday.

On Monday, the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Committee said it would also investigate. Senators Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan, and Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, said their panel would carry out a bipartisan inquiry.

“There is no place for political violence in our nation, and Saturday’s shocking attack should never have been allowed to happen,” Mr. Peters said in a statement.

Mr. Trump was injured on Saturday at a rally in Butler, Pa., after a gunman opened fire while perched on a nearby rooftop. One rally attendee was killed and two others were hospitalized.

The gunman was also killed by federal law enforcement officers.

While many have thanked the Secret Service for its swift response, serious questions remain about how the gunman got so close to Mr. Trump.

“A direct line of sight like that to the former president should not occur,” Mr. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, said on Monday on ABC News. “That is precisely why President Biden directed that an independent review of the incident occur.”

Representative Jeff Duncan, Republican of South Carolina, said he had spoken with Mr. Johnson about forming an independent commission to examine the shooting and security breakdowns.

“We cannot rely just on Congressional Oversight hearings or even Agency Inspector Generals to get the answers that Congress and the American people deserve about the failures to protect President #Trump adequately,” Mr. Duncan wrote on social media, adding: “An American died, and others were injured yesterday because you allowed a shooter to access an unsecured rooftop perch a mere 140+/- yards from the stage. The bottom line is that the security perimeter was inadequate, as security coverage should be beyond 500 yards or more.”

Mr. Duncan said an independent commission could be formed in the model of the Warren Commission, which was appointed after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to investigate law enforcement failures.

“The American people deserve answers from an Independent Commission,” he wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it would respond to congressional inquiries “directly via official channels, and the department will continue to respond appropriately to congressional oversight.”

Republicans have called the head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, to testify next week about the Trump assassination attempt. Representative James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, said in a statement that the agency had failed in its duties and must answer tough questions before the Oversight Committee that he leads.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Eileen Sullivan

Here are some questions facing the Secret Service.

The Secret Service, the agency tasked with protecting current and former U.S. presidents, is facing renewed scrutiny after a gunman fired at Donald J. Trump from the top of a building during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Mr. Trump was grazed by a bullet, a rallygoer was killed and two others were severely injured.

Here are some of the questions facing the agency:

Why didn’t the Secret Service secure the building where the gunman fired from the roof?

The agency made the decision to exclude the building from the “inner perimeter” area it was in charge of protecting after agency personnel visited the rally site ahead of Mr. Trump’s appearance on Saturday. Such advance visits are standard procedure.

A supervisor later approved the decision about the perimeter, despite the fact that the building was about 500 feet from the stage and a relatively easy shot for a sniper.

The Secret Service has not identified the supervisor or explained why the decision was made.

Who was responsible for securing the building?

The local police. It is unclear whether they were prepared for this kind of high-stakes assignment, or how much they understood the building was their responsibility.

The Secret Service often relies on local law enforcement agencies to help provide security at events.

Was there a breakdown in communication between local law enforcement and the Secret Service?

The Secret Service has said that local law enforcement was told of a “suspicious” person by rally attendees but could not find him. It is unclear whether or when this was relayed to the Secret Service.

People at the rally pointed out the suspect on the roof to local law enforcement. How did they react?

People at the rally say they tried to point out a gunman on the roof to local police. There have been varying reports on whether and how the police responded. Video taken by a bystander and analyzed by The New York Times shows people pointing to the suspected shooter and warning law enforcement two minutes before the first burst of gunfire rang out.

Investigations will likely raise questions about how much warning time the Secret Service had before its agents shot and killed the gunman.

Did the Secret Service respond appropriately after the shooting started?

The Secret Service killed the gunman soon after the first bullets were fired from his gun. Mr. Trump, who was grazed, grabbed his ear, which was spurting blood, then dove to the ground beside the podium. Secret Service agents quickly covered him.

Once Mr. Trump was back on his feet, he called for his shoes and raised a fist in a show of defiance to his supporters.

Former federal law enforcement officials have questioned the Secret Service’s decision to allow Mr. Trump to pause and raise his fist, exposing his head, rather than immediately moving him to his vehicle.

Michael Crowley

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken convened top department officials on Monday morning to discuss their response to the assassination attempt. Matthew Miller, a department spokesman, said Blinken instructed the officials to deliver the message abroad “that America has faced trying times before, but that we have emerged from them stronger because of our core values that we share as a nation.”

David Botti ,  Malachy Browne ,  Haley Willis ,  Riley Mellen and Dmitriy Khavin

A video shows people warning law enforcement about the gunman minutes before he fired at Trump.

“Look, they’re all pointing. Yeah, someone’s on top of the roof — look.” “There he is right there.” “Where?” “Right there, you see him? He’s laying down. You see him?” “Yeah, he’s laying down.” Trump: “Instead, I’m here with you, fighting like hell to get a sense —” “What’s happening?” Trump: “Because if we do, we’re going to make America better than ever before. We’re going to make it —” “Yeah, look, there he is. Trump: “Because we have millions —” “Officer.” Trump: “People in our country that shouldn’t be here. Dangerous people. Criminals, we have criminals.” “He’s on the roof. Right here, on the roof.” Trump: “It’s much tougher —” “On the roof.”

Video taken by a bystander shows people pointing to the man suspected of shooting at former President Donald J. Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania and frantically warning law enforcement, just two minutes before the first burst of gunfire rang out, according to an analysis of the footage by The New York Times.

“He’s on the roof!” says another, calling to an officer. “Right here, right on the roof.”

The footage shows the suspected gunman lying prone on the roof of a white structure, which The Times previously identified as the location from which shots were fired. The building is roughly 400 feet from the stage where Mr. Trump was standing, but was outside the rally’s security perimeter.

The video was taken at 6:09 p.m., two minutes before Mr. Trump was shot, according to the Times analysis. As the camera zooms in, the man crawls from the edge of the roof toward its peak. At that moment, he was likely out of sight of Secret Service sharpshooters on another building’s roof about 400 feet away.

At one point in the video, at least one law enforcement officer appears to be walking near the building, but it’s unclear if the officer heard the warnings or knew a potential shooter was on the roof.

Another video, captured about 57 seconds after the first video ends, shows the side of the building that faced the rally. An officer is seen walking toward the building slowly from a different direction; it’s unclear if this is the same officer as in the first video.

Trump: “Probably 20 million people. And, you know, that’s a little bit old, that chart. That chart — That’s a couple of months old. And if you want to really see something that said, take a look at what happened —” “Get the fuck down.”

At least three police vehicles are also seen parked in the lot next to the building, including one directly outside an entrance to the building. It is unclear if any officers are inside the cars.

Thirteen seconds into the video, while the officer walks alongside the building toward the gunman, the first shots ring out. The shooter is briefly visible on top of the roof. The officer flinches at the shots, and appears to turn away from the building.

Nailah Morgan contributed video production.