Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surround by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Following an assassination attempt on former President and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday afternoon, elected officials on both sides of the aisle condemned political violence, thanked law enforcement for their swift response and expressed relief that Trump was safe.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting at a Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally on Saturday as an assassination attempt and has identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks was fatally shot by Secret Service agents at the rally.

Speaking from the Roosevelt Room in the White House on Sunday afternoon, President Joe Biden said he was “sincerely grateful” to hear that Trump was recovering from the assassination attempt.

“An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation,” he said. “Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that now.”

North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, considered a contender to be Trump’s running mate, said in a statement on Saturday evening that she was “grateful” for the first responders and medical personnel on the scene, as well as Trump’s team.

“Please pray for President Trump, his family and all of the patriots at today’s rally in Pennsylvania,” she said. “The American people stand strongly with President Trump.”

Though Stefanik criticized Trump early in her tenure in the House of Representatives, she has become in recent years one of his strongest supporters in Congress, claiming that the 2020 election was “stolen” by President Joe Biden and referring to those arrested at the Capitol following the events of Jan. 6, 2021 as “hostages.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday evening.

“I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe. Political violence has no place in our country,” he wrote.

As a top Democratic official throughout Trump’s term in office, Schumer has regularly clashed with the former president. He has remained a vocal opponent of Trump and his supporters in recent years, just last week referring to Trump as a “tyrant who abuses his office to try and cling to power” in the wake of the Supreme Court decision granting presidents broad immunity from prosecution for their actions while in office.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, condemned the attempt on Trump’s life in a statement on Saturday evening.

“My thoughts are with former President Trump and all of those affected by this horrible act, and I’m grateful to law enforcement for their swift response,” she said. “Political violence is completely unacceptable and has no place in American democracy.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, expressed similar sentiments in her Saturday evening statement on X.

“Any violence against a fellow American is disgusting and unacceptable. We must express political disagreements peacefully, civilly and respectfully,” she wrote. “I am praying for the safety and health of former President Trump and all who are attending this event in Pennsylvania.”

State Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, said in a statement on Sunday afternoon that there is “no place” in the U.S. for domestic terrorism.

“Elections are resolved at the ballot box, not from the barrel of a gun,” he said. “I’m relieved by the news that President Trump is safe after this cowardly attempt on his life, and my heart goes out to the families of the individual who was killed and the two innocent bystanders that were injured while exercising their right to free speech and attending a peaceful political rally.”

He also thanked law enforcement for their actions at the rally but indicated that the Secret Service had fallen short in its duty to protect the former president.

“In the very near future, there will be opportunity for a thorough, transparent and hopefully honest and independent analysis of the obvious tremendous failure of the Secret Service and the years of constant vitriol that led to yesterday’s assassination attempt,” he said. “For now, I’m relieved that yesterday’s events didn’t prove to be more catastrophic.”

Stec endorsed Trump on June 28, saying that “the Biden administration is failing to meet the challenges facing our nation.” In the immediate wake of the shooting at Trump’s rally on Saturday, Stec posted on his campaign’s Facebook page that he was praying for Trump. On Saturday night, Stec made a photo of Trump after the shooting — surrounded by Secret Service agents with his fist in the air and blood streaking his face — the profile picture of his personal Facebook page, which is semi-visible to the public.

Assemblyman Billy Jones, D-Chateaugay Lake, said in a statement on Sunday that he was “shaken” by the assassination attempt, which he condemned.

“The assassination attempt against the former president has no place in our country and we must put an end to this political violence,” he said. “I am shaken by the events yesterday and am thinking of everyone affected by the shooting. I am glad that former President Trump is safe and my thoughts go out to him and his family.”

Assemblyman Matt Simpson, R-Lake George, said in a statement on Sunday that he was “appalled.”

“This act of violence is not only an attack on a former president but an assault on our democratic process. Political violence has no place in our society. Our democracy relies on the peaceful exchange of ideas and the protection of all individuals’ rights to express their views without fear of harm,” Simpson said.

He added his thanks to law enforcement and the Secret Service and expressed sympathy for attendees of the rally.

Corey Comperatore, a bystander, was also killed at the rally on Saturday. Comperatore, 50, was a firefighter and a father of two. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said in a press conference on Sunday afternoon that Comperatore was fatally shot while shielding his wife and daughter from the gunfire. Bystanders David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were also injured by gunfire at the rally.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he was “sickened” by the shooting.

“It cannot be overstated — political violence is never acceptable. My thoughts are with former President Trump, those at the event and all Americans,” Trudeau said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying on Sunday that, while the Russian government did not believe that Biden orchestrated the assassination attempt, it did believe that Biden’s administration created an “atmosphere during the political struggle” that “provoked” the attempt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas both condemned political violence in the wake of the assassination attempt, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the violence “has no justification.”

“Never should violence prevail,” Zelenskyy said. “I am relieved to learn that Donald Trump is now safe and wish him a speedy recovery.”