BUTLER, Pennsylvania.— After the aggression suffered by Donald Trumpit was revealed that, apparently The shooter was not present at the rally. It was reportedly shot down almost immediately by Secret Service agents.
The attacker was confronted by members of the counterattack team. United States Secret Service. The heavily armed tactical team travels everywhere with the president and leading candidates and is tasked with confronting any active threats while other agents focus on safeguard and evacuate the person in the protection centre.
Authorities recovered an AR type rifle in place, according to a person familiar with the matterwho spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Although at first It was not clear whether Trump was hit by a gunshot or injured. When the agents knocked him to the ground, the Republican Party candidate himself confirmed on social media that a bullet “pierced the top” of his right ear.
Alexander Mayorkassecretary of National security, whose department oversees the Secret Service, said officials were committed to the Biden and Trump campaigns and “taking every possible step to ensure their safety.”
Timeline of the attack on Donald Trump
Trump showed a graph with numbers on border crossings during his campaign rally — his last before the start of the Republican National Convention— when suspected gunshots began to be heard after 6:10 a.m.
Two minutes passed from the moment of the first shot before Trump was placed into a waiting SUV.
After the first blast, Trump said, “Oh,” and put his hand to his right ear as people in the stands behind him looked shocked. Two more blasts followed quickly, and he ducked down.
Someone near the microphone at Trump’s lectern was heard saying: “¡Agache, Agache, Agache, Agache!”. while the agents guarded the former president. They placed themselves on top of him to protect him with their bodies, as is their training protocol, while others Agents took up positions on the stage to detect the alleged aggressor.
Screams were heard from the crowd of thousands. A woman’s scream stood out from the chaos. Then Voices were heard repeatedly saying “attacker killed” before anyone asked if it was safe to move. Then, someone ordered “we have to move.”
Trump could be heard on the video saying twice: “Let me find my shoes, let me find my shoes”and another voice was heard saying: “I have him under guard, sir.”
Trump stood up moments later and could be seen placing his right hand on his neck and there appeared to be blood on his face. He raised his fist in the air and appeared to utter the word “fight” twice before his crowd of supporters, prompting loud applause and then chants of “One. USA. USA”.
The crowd cheered as Trump stood up and raised his fist.
His motorcade left the scene moments later. Video shows Trump turning toward the crowd and raising a fist just before getting into the vehicle.
Journalists listened five or six shots and many ducked for cover, hiding under tables.
After the first two or three explosions, people in the crowd seemed surprised, but not frightened. A reporter at the scene reported that At first the noise sounded like firecrackers or maybe a car.
When it was clear that the situation was under control, attendees began to leave the venue. A man in an electric wheelchair was trapped on the field when the power ran out. battery of your chairOthers tried to help him move.
Republican activists recount the events
The timing of the shooting caught Trump rally attendees off guard.
Erin Autenreith She said the moment felt like a Fourth of July celebration. “I was sitting in the front row, right in front of Donald Trump“I was so excited. I was just looking at him. Then I heard popping sounds. It sounded like the Fourth of July, pop, pop, pop,” said the 66-year-old from Glenshaw, Pennsylvania.
The police soon asked those who remained to to leave the premises and Secret Service agents told reporters that “they must leave. This is the crime scene”.
Investigation continues
The Pennsylvania State Police and a bomb disposal unit search a van near the shooting in which Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was wounded, according to television WTAE Pittsburgh.
The suspicious van is located near the scene of this afternoon’s shooting during a Trump rally in which the politician was injured, an assistant died and two people were seriously injured.
He FBI confirmed the event as an assassination attempt and the White House is in constant communication with Trump’s security forces.
Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service, has been summoned to testify on July 22 regarding the attack.
The summons was made to Kimberly in a letter signed by James Comer, Director of Oversight and Accountability in Congress, who posted the letter on his X account.
Eating never stops emphasizing “the tremendous courage” of the Secret Service agents present at the event, who protected Trump, They neutralized the attacker and prevented further damage to the large crowd present.
However, there have been numerous voices questioning the effectiveness of the Secret Service in failing to prevent an armed sniper from positioning himself, unnoticed by the numerous agents present, on a rooftop that was only 163 yards, or 150 meters, from the podium where the president was speaking.
At that distance, and with the weapons available on the market in the United States, it is relatively easy to hit a desired target, as several specialists interviewed this afternoon on television have highlighted.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party said that the national convention that will formalize Trump’s candidacy is still on.
In the statement, the Republicans said the former president “looks forward” to appearing there, to “continue sharing his vision of making America great again.”
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2024-07-28 18:22:04