A woman who attended former President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday described the moment she and “everyone fell to the ground” during a possible assassination attempt.
Saurabh Sharma, president of American Moment, a Washington, D.C.-based training nonprofit, told Fox News Digital that spectators initially thought the gunfire was fireworks, but “it quickly fell to the ground.”
“I remember hearing a couple of noises, quite light ones,” Sharma said. “I thought it was fireworks but then everybody just dropped to the ground. I think the president dropped to the ground as well. Secret Service were obviously swarming around him.”
Live updates on deadly shooting at Trump rally
Participants began looking around, while others urged them to “stay down,” she said.
A crowd reacts to a shooting at a rally for former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Sharma said she saw the former president and Republican presidential nominee waving to the crowd and “pumping his fist.”
“He seemed OK,” she said.
Shooting at Trump rally investigated as possible assassination attempt
“I didn’t see any blood from my angle,” she said. “The only time I saw blood was on the video.”
State police clear people from the stands at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, after a gun was fired at Republican candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
The “real story” was to the left of the stage, rally-goers said. Butler Farm Show basis.
“They are [Secret Service personnel] “I went down backstage where everything was set up,” she said. “The audience went wild.”
Attempt to assassinate President Trump at Pennsylvania rally leaves two injured, including the shooter, two dead
There was a lot of blood…
“There was a lot of blood,” Sharma said. “I saw a lot of people with blood on their shirts and it looked like bodies were being removed.”
The Trump campaign said in a statement that the former president was “doing OK” after the shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Sharma said people who attended events in key battleground states were “shocked.”
“Everyone at the rally was pretty surprised by what had happened,” she said. “People weren’t speaking very loudly and were just talking to themselves.”
“Nobody seemed surprised,” she said. “They just walked out a little dazed. I heard one scream.”
Sharma added that the atmosphere after the shooting was one of “stunned silence” rather than “a crowd trying to flee.”
It was a truly astonishing silence…
“But what I really felt was a stunned silence, and everyone looked pretty depressed when they walked outside,” she said. “Nobody was rushing to leave or rushing to leave.”
Secret Service agents respond after shots rang out during a rally for former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
She said people were wondering if the former president was “OK” and “there were a few people crying.”
Sharma said one woman repeated: “They tried to kill him, they tried to kill him.”
“It was a pretty strange sight,” she said.
Gunfire erupted during a rally for Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, leaving people falling to the ground. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Sharma said there were “no rules” in this election and that “this country has gone mad.”
Trump returns to Pennsylvania for pre-convention rally in battleground state
“I think this is going to take on a new level of importance for the Republican National Committee that it’s never had before,” she said. “This is one of those times in American history where it’s all up in the air. There are no rules. And I just hope that the president comes out of this completely unscathed.”
“It’s a really tough time in the country right now,” she said.
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump suffered a bullet wound during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and was hurriedly escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Gunfire erupted on stage shortly after Trump began speaking at a packed rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Click here to get the FOX News app
The US Secret Service said in a press release that the suspect opened fire from an “elevated position”, killing at least one person and “seriously injuring” two others.
The suspect, whose identity has not been released, was shot and killed by Secret Service agents.
