Donald Trump ‘Safe’ After Shots Fired at Campaign Event; Suspected Shooter and Rally Attendee Dead
Former president Donald Trump was rushed off stage after a weapon was fired at a campaign rally Saturday in Butler, Pa. Trump’s right ear appeared to be grazed as he was escorted away by Secret Service.
According to the Associated Press, the suspected shooter — identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pa. — “was engaged by members of the U.S. Secret Service counterassault team and killed.” A rally attendee is also dead, and two other attendees were critically injured.
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The shooting is being investigated as an attempted assassination.
Shortly after the incident, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told the The New York Times that the former president was “fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility,” while Secret Service confirmed that “the former President is safe.”
Before delivering remarks before the press, President Joe Biden issued the following statement:
I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information. Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro also addressed the incident on X:
Violence targeted at any political party or political leader is absolutely unacceptable. It has no place in Pennsylvania or the United States. I have been briefed on the situation. Pennsylvania state police are on the scene in Butler County and working with our federal and local partners.
The moment Trump was grazed occurs at the 8:36 mark in the video below:
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