Police authorities were investigating a possible assassination attempt on Donald Trump after a man with a rifle opened fire on him during a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Gugliemi said: I said it with X “Former President [was] After several shots were fired, Trump shouted “safety” and agents guarding him Leap Gourimi said Secret Service agents then shot and killed a suspect who had been firing at Trump from an elevated position outside the rally.
One spectator was killed and two were seriously injured. The attacker was not immediately identified.
In two statements, Trump said he was “OK” after being hit by a bullet in his “upper body.” [his] “Right ear.”
The former president also thanked Secret Service agents and other law enforcement officials for their “swift response” in a Truth Social post after the shooting.
“Most importantly, we are in contact with the families of those who died at the rally. [those] He was seriously injured,” Trump said, adding that he was taken to a hospital for examination and then Reportedly It was released at approximately 10:20pm local time.
“I can’t believe this kind of behavior would happen in our country.”
NBC News’ video captured more than a dozen images, with the latter footage appearing to show agents guarding the president as he spoke onstage at the time.
“Get down, get down, get down!” could be heard yelling. As gunfire continued and screams could be heard from the crowd, agents arrived and threw themselves on top of Trump.
Audio from the network recorded an investigator saying: “The shooter is down. The shooter is down. Can we move? It’s safe, it’s 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 can also be heard telling Trump, “We’ve got you. Hold on. Your head is bloody. We need to move.”
“Wait, wait,” Trump replied, then pumped his fist and mouthed “Fight, fight, fight.”
And the rally crowd responded by chanting “USA! USA! USA!”
Uniformed and armed troops soon arrived, as some spectators yelled abuse at the media.
Investigators then whisked Trump away from view.
The footage showed Trump with blood coming from his ear, and Reuters reported that there was also a sniper on a roof near the stage where Trump was standing.
NBC News, citing two senior law enforcement officials, reported that there was growing concern among investigators that the shooting at the Trump rally “may have been a significant attempt on his life.”
Local District Attorney Richard Goldinger told CNN he didn’t know how the suspect “got to the scene.”
“We need to figure out how he got there.”
Meanwhile, the BBC Interviewed A Trump supporter outside the rally said he had approached to listen to the former president’s speech when he saw a man with a rifle climbing to the roof of the building.
The man reportedly pointed to the building and said, “There’s a man with a rifle on the roof,” but no police officers responded, and about two minutes later, the man fired about five shots at Trump.
At that point, the man Said According to the BBC, Secret Service agents shot and killed the assailant. “They blew his head off,” the man said.
Investigators found an AR-style rifle at the scene, The Associated Press reported, citing law enforcement sources.
Associated Press Reportedly They located a video posted on social media that showed a human body lying motionless on the roof of a building belonging to AGR International, a manufacturing plant just north of Saturday’s Trump rally.
“The roof was less than 165 yards from where Trump was speaking, close enough for a skilled marksman to hit a man-sized target,” said Scott Bauer of the Associated Press. I have written About X.
Joe Biden Said X said he had been briefed on the reported shooting.
“I’m glad to hear he’s safe and well,” the president said of Trump, who reportedly spoke with him on Saturday night. “I’m praying for him, his family and all those who were at the rally as we await more information.”
In a televised address, Biden called for broad condemnation of political violence.
“At the end of the day, Trump’s rally could have been peaceful and without incident,” Biden said. “But this kind of political violence in America is unheard of. It’s inappropriate. And everyone must condemn it.”
The rally drew many reactions, including from Trump’s Republican supporters.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote to X that the House of Representatives will “conduct a full investigation into today’s tragic events.”
“The American people have a right to know the truth,” Johnson said, promising that the House would summon Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security and FBI officials to a hearing as soon as possible.
Former Republican President George W. Bush said he was “grateful” that Trump “survived this vile attack.”
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, offered prayers for President Trump.
“We appreciate the decisive response from law enforcement,” Jeffries said. I have written Regarding X: “America is a democratic nation. Political violence of any kind is never tolerated.”
Former Democratic President Barack Obama Separate Statement“Political violence has no place in our democracy. While we still don’t know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump was not seriously injured and use this opportunity to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in politics.”
In a June interview with the Guardian, Steve Bannon, an adviser to President Trump and former White House chief strategist, said he worried the Republican candidate would be assassinated before the November election.
“That’s my biggest fear,” Bannon said before beginning a four-month prison sentence for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena. “Assassination should be at the top of the list, but I believe the women who run that part of the Secret Service are not doing their jobs.”
Referring to the Republican National Convention that begins Monday, Trump added that he is “disturbed by what’s happening in Milwaukee,” but added that “I’m impressed with how calm Mr. Trump is.”
Bannon argued that everywhere from New York plays to essays by prominent scholar Robert Kagan, Trump was being portrayed as the new Julius Caesar, paving the way for would-be assassins to justify emulating Brutus, just as Abraham Lincoln was treated similarly after the Civil War.
“Remember John Wilkes Booth? The Southern newspapers, especially the Richmond newspapers, are reporting Caesarism, Lincoln is Caesar, Lincoln is taking away your freedoms. You fought this war, and now that we’ve lost the war, Lincoln is going to take away all your freedoms and make you slaves.”
