Trump Rushed Offstage After Gunshots at Pennsylvania Rally
Donald Trump is “safe” after being rushed offstage with blood on his face at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where gunshots rang out Saturday afternoon.
Early Sunday morning, the FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, resident Thomas Matthew Crooks. Federal authorities added in a press conference on Saturday that the shooting is being investigated as an attempted assassination.
The Secret Service noted after the incident that Trump was “safe.” The Associated Press has reported that law enforcement is investigating the incident as an assassination attempt.
According to the Secret Service, a “suspected shooter” fired “multiple shots” at the stage where Trump was standing, from what is being described as an “elevated position outside of the rally venue.” The shooting took place at approximately 6:15 p.m. local time, and the shooter was quickly “neutralized” by the Secret Service and is now dead, according to agency spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi. One attendee was also killed and two others “were critically injured.” The former president had his injuries treated at an area hospital before being released Saturday night.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday.
Video of the incident shows the crowd reacting to three quick explosive sounds with screaming. As the bangs were heard, Trump grabbed his right ear and crouched onstage. Someone yelled, “Duck, duck, duck!” as the crowd reacted, and Trump moved to the ground. Secret Service agents then dove on top of the former president, yelling, “Get down! Get down, Get down!” as another volley of popping, gunshot-like noises could be heard.
The former president soon got to his feet and appeared to be bleeding from his right ear. Trump pumped his fist to the crowd as Secret Service personnel rushed him from the stage and into a waiting vehicle.
Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung has issued a statement. “President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act,” Cheung said. “He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility.”
In a Truth Social post at 8:42 p,m., Trump described having been “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” He added: “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place.” He thanked the Secret Service and “all of Law Enforcement” and extended his condolences for the bystanders who were killed and injured.
Trump had been about 10 minutes into his speech, discussing “illegal immigration,” referring to a chart he had that claimed that he had the “lowest amount” during his presidency. “And then the worst president in the history of our country took over, and look what happened to our country, probably 20 million people. And you know, that’s a little bit old. That chart, that chart’s a couple of months old. And if you want to really see something, that said, take a look at what happened,” he said before the first loud bangs began.
The last time a sitting or former president was hit with a bullet was the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
President Biden, who is in Rehoboth, Delaware, has received a briefing on the Trump incident from the director of the Secret Service and from Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security.
Biden, in a statement, expressed gratitude that Trump is “safe and doing well,” adding that he is praying for the 45th president. He also praised the Secret Service. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America,” Biden said. “We must unite as one nation to condemn it.” Biden added in remarks delivered from Delaware that he has tried getting in touch with Trump. “There is no place for this kind of violence in America. It’s sick. It’s sick,” the president said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, in a statement, called on all Americans to “condemn this abhorrent act” and to “ensure that it does not lead to more violence.”
Former President Barack Obama weighed in with a plea for calm. “There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy,” Obama said in a statement calling on the country to “use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics.” Former President George W. Bush denounced the apparent shooting at Trump as a “cowardly attack on his life” and commended the “speedy response” of the Secret Service. President Bill Clinton wrote on X that “violence has no place in America, especially in our political process,” and, with Hillary, gave thanks for Trump’s safety and the “swift action,” while adding he was “heartbroken for all those affected by the attack at today’s rally.”
The Republican National Convention, set to kick off in Milwaukee next week, will reportedly allow guns in the security zone, though not inside the convention hall.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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