(NEXSTAR) – One rally attendee was killed and two others were seriously injured Saturday in an apparent attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
All three shooting victims were identified as adult men. As of Sunday morning, police had not released their identities.
Witnesses at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, said the man who died may have been shot in the head.
Rico Elmore, vice chairman of the Beaver County Republican Party, was facing Trump when the shots rang out and he heard someone call for medics from his left, so he jumped into action. Elmore has first aid and CPR training from his military background.
He removed his tie and jumped over the barricade, but as he approached the man, Elmore saw he had been shot in the head. Elmore said he grabbed the victim’s head, but it was too late. The man was unresponsive.
Witnesses said at least one of the people shot was in the bleachers behind Trump.
“A man was shot in the bleachers in front of me and died instantly,” one rally attendee said. Joseph Main told NewsNation.“It was a direct hit. His body fell immediately into the bleachers.”
Dave McCormick, a Republican candidate for the Senate in Pennsylvania, was sitting to Trump’s right on stage and said he turned around and saw someone get shot as Trump was being escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents after everyone ducked.
McCormick said emergency responders were able to remove the injured from the large crowd and get them medical treatment.
Trump also I rushed to the hospital He was wounded after the shooting, but his injuries were believed to be minor. He said Saturday night that a bullet had grazed the side of his face and he “felt it cutting through the skin.” He was seen leaving the rally with blood coming from his ear.
Despite his injuries, the former president is in “good spirits,” his campaign said.
Authorities said the shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crook, was shot and killed by Secret Service agents in return.
The shooting is being investigated as an attempted assassination.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
