As hundreds of Trump supporters sporting red MAGA caps and carrying placards filed onto a fairground outside the small town of Butler, Pennsylvania, there was little indication they were about to witness a seminal moment in the US presidential campaign, and history.
What started as a peaceful rally on a sunny Saturday afternoon ended in chaos and confusion as a volley of shots were fired at former president Donald Trump, leaving him alive, but with blood streaming from his ear.
Here's what ABC News Verify has been able to determine from multiple live video feeds, map data, emergency reports, and eyewitness videos and accounts. As more footage from the event continues to emerge, questions are now being raised as to why authorities were unable to stop the former president from being shot.
Follow our live coverage of the attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump.
The rally was being held here at the Butler Fairground, about 55km north of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia. Special stands and a stage had been erected at the site for the event.
6:02pm EDT (8:02am AEST)
Trump had been billed to take the stage at 5pm local time but doesn't appear until about 34 seconds past 6:02pm, when the song "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood plays him in.
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The rally stage is facing to the north-west with audience stands behind, and those three buildings you can see in the satellite imagery directly behind them. To Trump's left there is another series of large buildings and a car park.
6:05pm EDT
After greeting the audience, Trump officially takes the stage. His first words into the microphone are "this is a big crowd, this is a big, big beautiful crowd."
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6:09pm EDT
A video that began circulating after the initial publication of this story shows the shooter — revealed by the FBI to be 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks — crawling across the roof next to the fairground car park.
The eyewitness video shows Crooks lying on his side 111 seconds before he shoots Trump. The actual shooting isn't shown, but ABC News Verify has matched the audio in the video of the former president speaking against live feeds of the rally to determine the timing.
As the shooter begins to move, a man tries to grab the attention of an off-screen police officer before a woman is heard yelling "he's on the roof!".
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6:11pm EDT
At 25 seconds past 6:11pm, a rally attendee near the shooter's position shouts out "he's got a gun!" as people around him panic. Video posted by TMZ shows the long-haired man in a prone firing position on a building near the car park, north of the stage.
A live stream feed from Right Side Broadcasting network — corroborated with live feeds from Associated Press and Reuters — shows the first shot was heard at 33 seconds past 6:11pm Eastern Daylight Time.
Footage taken by a rally attendee and posted on TikTok shows a sniper appearing to react quickly.
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Looking northwards, Trump is showing a graph about US immigration figures and says "take a look at what happened" when he is cut off.
Three shots can be heard from the same weapon in under three seconds.
Between the first and second shots, the former president clutches his ear and winces slightly, indicating the first bullet found its mark.
The second shot rings out and Trump begins to crouch behind his podium. Crowd members behind him holding "You're Fired" placards — the catchphrase Trump used when hosting the reality TV show The Apprentice — begin to realise what is happening.
The third shot is heard, and three members of his security team are almost instantly on top of Trump, shielding him with their bodies.
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Four seconds later, another four shots are heard, followed by a rapid three-shot burst from what sounds like a different firearm. Then, 11 seconds later, there is one more gunshot.
While there is extensive vision of snipers positioned around the rally site, at the time of publication it is unclear who killed the shooter, and from where they were firing from.
Eyewitness video taken in the aftermath shows the shooter's body on a building next to the northern car park approximately 130 metres away from the stage where Trump was speaking.
It's still unclear exactly how Crooks accessed the rooftop without being stopped, but street map data and satellite imagery of the location shows multiple access points, including from the adjacent buildings and car park.
6:12pm EDT
As more Secret Service agents and armed escorts rush to Trump's side, the microphone picks up the security team trying to coordinate their exit strategy.
Footage taken by Washington Post photographer Jabin Botsford shows the guards trying to get the former president up on his feet.
Screams of "We love you, Trump!" are heard from the crowd.
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6:13pm EDT
The security team is ready to move after a path from the stage to his SUV is cleared. Trump is heard asking to collect his shoes before leaving.
Meanwhile, approximately 50 metres north of the stage, bystanders try to help a person who had been shot in the crossfire.
Police in the live feed and in eyewitness video are seen carrying a bloodied victim away.
An unnamed emergency department doctor wearing a USA T-shirt covered in blood is later filmed describing how the victim had been shot in the head and the man had attempted to save their life with CPR.
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Secret Service spokesman Anthony Gugliemi would announce later that in addition to the gunman, one audience member was killed and another two were critically injured.
Back on stage, Trump raises his fist in the air and the crowd cheers, chanting "USA" as his team escorts him down the stairs and off the stage. It takes 22 seconds for him to reach his vehicle.
Trump throws out one last fist pump to the crowd before a few more agents enter behind him and close the door. His vehicle begins driving away at 41 seconds past 6:13pm EDT.
It all took just 11 minutes and nine seconds.
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