US law enforcement is investigating an assassination attempt on Donald Trump following a gunman opened fire on Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
U.S. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Gugliemi said on X that the former president survived following more than a dozen shots rang out, prompting agents protecting Trump to attack the assailant amid the ensuing panic.
In a pair of statements, Trump himself said he was fine. Even though the bullet hit him above his right ear.
“Secret Service agents shot and killed the suspected attacker following he opened fire on Trump from an elevated position outside the rally site,” Gugliemi was quoted as saying by the Guardian, Sunday (14/7).
One bystander was killed and two others were seriously injured. The shooter has not been identified. Trump thanked Secret Service agents and other law enforcement officials for their quick response.
“Most importantly, I want to express my condolences to the families of those who were killed in the demonstrations and also to the families of those who were seriously injured. It is truly incredible that such an act might happen in our country,” Trump said.
Also read: Donald Trump: Bullet Went Through Top of My Ear
Video from NBC News captured more than a dozen shots that appeared to come from agents protecting Trump as he spoke on stage.
“Get down, get down, get down!” Agents arrived to protect Trump as gunfire continued and shouts rose from the crowd. “Shooter down. Shooter down. Are we ready to move? We’re safe, we’re safe.”
As agents tried to remove Trump from the stage at the rally, he said: “Let me get my shoes. Let me get my shoes.” Agents were heard telling the former president: “I got you. Hold on. Your head is bleeding. We gotta move.”
Read also: New York Police Tighten Security at Trump Tower After Shooting Incident
Trump replied: “Wait, wait.” He then clenched his fists, and chanted “Fight, fight, fight.” And the crowd at the demonstration responded with chants of, “USA! USA! USA!”
Uniformed armed forces soon arrived as some onlookers shouted expletives at the media. The agents then led Trump away from view.
Video footage showed blood in Trump’s ear. There was also a sniper on the roof near the stage where Trump was standing. NBC News, citing two senior law enforcement officials, reported that there is growing concern among investigators that the shooting at Trump’s rally may have been a serious attempt to kill him.
Also read: Trump Shooter Killed, Allegedly Sniper
Local District Attorney Richard Goldinger appeared on CNN and said he was not sure how the shooting suspect got to the location where he did so easily. “That’s something we have to find out – how he got there,” he said.
Meanwhile, the BBC interviewed a Trump supporter who said he was outside the rally and had been trying to get closer to hear the former president speak when he saw a man carrying a rifle climb onto the roof of a building.
“There was a guy on the roof with a gun,” he said. But no police responded, and regarding two minutes later, the man fired several shots at Trump.
At that point, the man told the BBC, Secret Service agents shot the attacker dead. “They blew his head off,” the man said.
Joe Biden said in X that he had been briefed on the reported shooting. “I am grateful to hear that he is safe and well. I am praying for him and his family and all those who were at the rally, as we await more information,” Biden said.
In a televised address, Biden urged widespread condemnation of political violence. “The bottom line is that Trump’s campaign should have been able to be conducted peacefully without any problems. But the idea that there was political violence like this in America is unheard of. It’s uncalled for. Everyone should condemn it.”
Scenes from the rally prompted a flood of reactions, including support for Trump from Republicans such as former president George W Bush and US senators Marco Rubio of Florida and JD Vance of Ohio.
“Former first lady Laura Bush and I are grateful that President Trump is safe following the cowardly attack that killed him. And we commend the men and women of the Secret Service for their swift response,” Bush said.
Leading Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, also offered his prayers for Trump. “I am grateful for the decisive response from law enforcement. America is a democracy. Political violence in any form is never acceptable,” Jeffries wrote on X.
Former Democratic President Barack Obama said in a separate statement that there is no place for political violence in a democracy. “While we do not yet know exactly what happened, we should all take comfort that former President Trump was not seriously harmed, and use this moment to recommit to civility. (P-5)
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