Two injured Trump rally victims’ conditions improve from ‘critical’ to ‘serious’

Two men who were critically injured Saturday during the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump have seen their conditions upgraded, according to a hospital official.

James Copenhaver, 74, and David Dutch, 57, had arrived at Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition, but their statuses improved to “serious condition” on Wednesday, an Allegheny Health Network official told the Washington Examiner.

The pair were wounded when a gunman opened fire at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A third man, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, died at the scene.

Copenhaver’s family members said in a statement Tuesday that he had suffered “life-altering injuries.”

“At this time, the Copenhaver family would kindly request that friends, the public, and the media respect the family’s privacy and allow for Jim to recover from the life-altering injuries that he sustained on July 13, 2024,” they wrote. “The Copenhaver family would like to thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and support as Jim and his family recover from this horrible, senseless, and unnecessary act of violence.”

Dutch, who was also injured, is a member of the Marine Corps League, which is a veterans group.

“Our immediate support continues for David and his family as he continues his recovery from this attack,” the group wrote in a statement on Facebook. “We offer solace for David and his family along with eternal thoughts and prayers for all the victims of this tragedy.”

Dutch was shot twice, in the liver and stomach, Fox News reported.

Authorities say 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks crawled to the top of a building outside the security perimeter of Trump’s rally on Saturday with a rifle and attempted to assassinate the former president. A bullet hit Trump in the ear, but he ducked behind his podium while Secret Service snipers fired at Crooks, killing him.

The Secret Service is now facing multiple investigations into the security failures that allowed Crooks to fire multiple rounds at Trump and into the crowd at the rally.