Former US President and Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Several shots were fired while Trump was delivering a speech in front of a crowd of supporters. A bullet grazed his right ear, after which the real estate tycoon-turned-politician was escorted off the stage.
The Secret Service later said a suspected shooter and a member of the audience were killed. Two spectators were critically injured.
President Joe Biden and many leading politicians have condemned the attempt on Trump’s life. Some of Trump’s supporters argued that the toxic and violent rhetoric directed at him may have played a part in the incident.
15 July 2024
“Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy. It’s part of human nature. But politics must never be a little battlefield and, God forbid, a killing field,” Biden said. He urged us to resolve disagreements through elections and peaceful debate.
During his speech, Biden twice referred to a ballot box as “the battle box.”
“In America, we resolve our differences at the battle box… you know, that’s how we do it, at the battle box, not with bullets,” he said.
President Joe Biden delivered an address from the Oval Office on Sunday night, urging to “lower the temperature” in US politics.
He once again condemned the attempt on Trump’s life but also listed other recent examples of political violence, including the storming of the Capitol in 2021, the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and the 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“We can’t allow for this violence to be normalized. The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that,” Biden said.
14 July 2024
One of the world’s largest asset management and investment companies, BlackRock, confirmed that the shooter appeared in one of its ads.
“In 2022, we ran an ad featuring a teacher from Bethel Park High School, in which several unpaid students briefly appeared in the background, including Thomas Matthew Crooks,” a spokesperson said on Sunday.
Forbes deleted an op-ed titled ‘Will Surviving Gunfire Be Donald Trump’s Next Appeal To Black Voters?’ after receiving backlash online.
The opinion piece written by diversity, equity and inclusion expert Shaun Harper argued that African American voters could grow more sympathetic to Trump because, according to the FBI statistics, they are more likely to be shot than white voters.
There are no plans to tighten security at the Republican National Convention, which will open in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Monday. Trump will attend the event.
“The plans that we have in place will continue as is, and we’re confident in those plans,” Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, the Secret Service’s convention coordinator, said. “It is an 18-month process that involves all levels of government that are contributing to the operational security plans for this event.”
CNN cited an unnamed senior Democratic adviser as saying that the party may change campaign strategy following the attempt on Trump’s life. The Democrats may focus on criticizing Trump’s policies, rather than on personal attacks.
“It makes Biden’s path even more challenging since it makes it more difficult for him to highlight the risk Trump poses, especially in the short term,” a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
There is no indication that gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks had a history of mental illness, said Kevin Rojek, the FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office. He added investigators “have not identified an ideology associated” with the shooter.
“We’re looking into his background, his day-to-day activities, any writings and social media posts that might help us identify what led to this shooting. And we have not seen anything threatening,” Rojek said at a press conference.
FBI officials believe the shooter at the Trump rally acted alone, as per Associated Press. They have yet to identify a specific ideology, but they are thoroughly examining his social media accounts and weapons. Thus far, no threatening writings or social media posts have been discovered.
Pennsylvania State Police have identified the two spectators wounded at the rally as 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver. Both men were described by the force as “in stable condition.”
Earlier on Sunday, law enforcement named the man fatally shot at the event as 50-year-old former firefighter Corey Comperatore. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said that Comperatore “died a hero,” diving over his wife and daughter to shield them when the gunman opened fire.
Sky News has deleted a social media post implying that Trump was to blame for his attempted murder. The post, published on X early on Sunday morning, read: “Nothing justifies an assassination bid – but did Trump play part in changing the rules of engagement?”
An article with the same headline on Sky’s website has also been edited and is now titled “US politics is laced with malevolence and division – it needs a reset.”
Two thirds of Americans think that political violence is more likely following the attempt on Trump’s life, according to a YouGov poll taken immediately after the shooting. 67% of respondents told the polling organization that “the current political climate makes politically motivated violence more likely,” while just 8% predicted that tensions will simmer down.
The results transcended political differences, with 69% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans predicting increased violence.
Donald Trump will not take a pause in his schedule in the wake of the assassination attempt, the ex-US president announced in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Based on yesterday’s terrible events, I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin, and The Republican National Convention, by two days, but have just decided that I cannot allow a “shooter,” or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else,” Trump wrote.
US President Joe Biden said he was “sincerely grateful” that Donald Trump was “doing well and recovering.” Speaking at the White House, Biden urged the public to not make any assumptions on the motives of the attacker and let the FBI conduct the investigation. The president also promised to further address the matter from the Oval Office tonight.
Discord, a popular online chat site among gamers, claimed it has deactivated an account related to gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The account “was rarely utilized, and we have found no evidence that it was used to plan this incident, promote violence, or discuss his political views,” said Clint Smith, Discord’s chief legal officer. Discord is collaborating with law enforcement, Smith stated. It wasn’t immediately obvious whether Crooks had other accounts.
Seconds before the gunman opened fire, he encountered a municipal police officer who was not equipped to neutralize him, Butler County Sheriff Michael T. Slupe stated in an interview with The Washington Post on Sunday.
The suspected attacker, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was “relentlessly bullied” in school, a local Pennsylvania news outlet reported, citing his classmates. Crooks has been described as a “loner,” who frequently wore “hunting” outfits in class.
Former first lady Melania Trump condemned the assassination attempt against her husband as a “heinous act,” stating that as she watched the dramatic events she “realized my life, and [their son] Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change.”
“I am grateful to the brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband,” she said in a statement. “Let us not forget that differing opinions, policy, and political games are inferior to love. Our personal, structural, and life commitment – until death – is at serious risk,” she added.
Joe Biden’s advisers believe his response to the assassination attempt gives him an opportunity to “appear presidential” and even to “reinvigorate his presidency,” Axios reported, citing sources. The handling of the incident could supposedly even quell the unrest among elected democrats, sparked by the disastrous debates held late last month, the report suggests.
The Secret Service has strongly denied claims it had repeatedly requested additional assets to beef up Donald Trump’s security and that these calls had been shot down by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“There’s an untrue assertion that a member of the former president’s team requested additional security resources and that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources, technology and capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo,” Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said in a statement.
The remarks come in response to media reports claiming it was actually the case, further amplified by allegations made by Republican Congressman Mike Waltz of Florida.
The suspected attacker had explosive devices stashed in his car, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing sources briefed on the investigation. The vehicle was found parked by the rally venue.
The firearm recovered from the scene, believed to have been used by the suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was legally purchased by his father, ABC News reported, citing multiple law enforcement sources.
CNN said it has contacted the father of the suspected attacker, Thomas Matthew Crooks, for comment. He refused to speak about his son before talking to law enforcement, stating that he was still trying to figure out “what the hell is going on.”
RT has discussed the botched assassination attempt with the host of ‘The Whistleblowers’ John Kiriakou and former CIA analyst Larry Johnson, who raised questions about the security at the Trump rally.
“The Secret Service security agents who were in charge of setting up security for that venue failed to do the job, or they were complicit in allowing this assassination attempt to occur. There’s no other choice,” Johnson has said.
Both civilians who were wounded in the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, remain in critical condition at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, local news station KDKA has reported.
A supporter of Donald Trump has been filmed blaming media staff at the scene of the shooting at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Pennsylvania. “This is your fault,” the man was heard telling reporters covering the rally.
Vladimir Zelensky has said he was “appalled” to learn about the attempt on Donald Trump’s life.
“Such violence has no justification and no place anywhere in the world. Never should violence prevail,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Ukrainian leader said that he is “relieved” to learn that Trump is now safe and wished him a speedy recovery. “I wish that America emerges stronger from this,” he stressed.
Zelensky’s comments come just a few days after Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kirill Budanov, claimed in an interview that Kiev had made several attempts to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that these have been “unsuccessful thus far.”
Donald Trump has issued his second statement after the attempt to assassinate him during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, saying that “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
“We will fear not, but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of Wickedness,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united, and show our true character as Americans, remaining strong and determined, and not allowing evil to win.”
The former president thanked all those who supported him after the attack. He also expressed condolences to the family of his supporter who was killed in the incident, and wished a speedy recovery to the two who were wounded.
“I truly love our country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our great nation this week from Wisconsin,” Trump said.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said he is deeply concerned about the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, who he described as “friend of Serbia.”
“I wish him a speedy recovery, knowing he will come out of this fight even stronger,” Vucic wrote on X (formerly Twitter.)
A 3D recreation of an attempt on Donald Trump’s life has been shared on X (formerly Twitter). The clip follows the path of the bullet that grazed the former US president’s right ear.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will not be calling Donald Trump after an assassination attempt against the former US leader, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has said.
“As far as I know, no, there are no such plans,” Peskov told the journalists after being asked if Putin is going to contact Trump.
The spokesman reminded that the authorities Moscow “has always… strongly condemn any manifestations of violence during the political struggle.”
After numerous attempts by his opponents to remove Trump as a presidential candidate through legal means and a discreditation campaign, “it was obvious to all outside observers that his life was in danger,” he stressed.
Russia expresses condolences to the victims of the attack and wishes a speedy recovery to the wounded Trump supporter, Peskov added.
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China’s leader Xi Jinping has “expressed sympathies” to Donald Trump after an assassination attempt against the former US president, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Beijing is “following” the situation, it added.
The US House Homeland Security Committee is planning to investigate reports that Donald Trump was denied stronger Secret Service protection before Saturday’s rally in Pennsylvania, during which an assassination attempt against him was made, a source has told Fox News.
Republican Congressman Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) claimed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that he had “very reliable sources telling me there have been repeated requests for stronger secret service protection for President Trump,” but they were “denied” by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn what he called a “despicable” assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
Marine Le Pen, the former longtime leader of the French right-wing National Rally (RN) party, has described the assassination attempt against Donald Trump as “a dramatic symbol of the violence that undermines our democracies.”
In post on X (formerly twitter), Le Pen wished a speedy recovery to Trump and the Republican Party activists who became “victims of this madness.” One spectator was killed and two other critically injured in the attack, according to the US Secret Service.
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, who recently survived an assassination attempt, has said that the attacks on Trump and himself followed the same script.
“Trump’s political opponents are trying to shut him down and when they fail, they agitate the public so much that some loser takes a gun,” Fico wrote on Facebook. “And now we will witness speeches about the need for reconciliation, appeasement and forgiveness.”
Fico was shot several times as he approached a crowd in the city of Handlova in central Slovakia on May 15. The assailant, who was detained on the spot, was a 71-year-old left-wing activist who reportedly strongly disagreed with prime minister’s decision to stop arms shipments to Ukraine. Despite initially being in a life-threatening condition, Fico was able to recover quickly and returned to work earlier this month.
The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee officials have said the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee will “proceed” despite the assassination attempt against Donald Trump. The former president is expected to attend the event, scheduled for July 15 to 18, they added.
“President Trump looks forward to joining you all in Milwaukee as we proceed with our convention to nominate him to serve as the 47th President of the United States. As our party’s nominee, President Trump will continue to share his vision to Make America Great Again,” the statement by Trump campaign senior advisors Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chairman Lara Trump, said.
Republicans in the US Congress believe the assassination attempt against Donald Trump has made his path to victory in the presidential election in November even easier, Politico has reported.
“President Trump survives this attack – he just won the election,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) told the outlet.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) suggested that the incident “will energize the base more than anything. And he [Trump], you know – with his fist in the air and he didn’t want to leave. And he’s yelling, fight, fight, fight. That’ll be the slogan.”
The FBI will perform a DNA test on the body of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter in the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, as had no ID on him, the FBI has said. The attacker was killed by US Secret Service snipers, and an AR-style rifle was later found near his corpse.
“It is a matter of doing biometric confirmations, so there was no identification on the individual for example so we're looking at photographs right now and we're trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation,” FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent Kevin Rojek told reporters.
Donald Trump’s team has published a video of him disembarking from a plane at Newark Liberty International Airport hours after the assassination attempt against him. The former US president is reportedly planning to spend the night at his nearby Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, whom the FBI identified as the shooter in the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, was registered as a Republican on Pennsylvania’s state voter status records, the Washington Post has reported.
Watch the full address by US President Joe Biden on the assassination attempt against Donald Trump:
The FBI has identified the attacker, who fired shots at Donald Trump, as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” the FBI said, urging anyone who has videos or photos of the incident to provide them to the agency.
Sources earlier told the New York Post that Crooks targeted Trump from the roof of a manufacturing plant more than 130 yards (119m) away from the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter was killed by US Secret Service snipers. An AR-style rifle was later found near his body. The village of Bethel Park is located 40 miles (64km) south of Butler.
FBI special agent in charge of the field office in Pittsburgh, Kevin Rojek, said that the shooter did not carry an ID and that the confirmation of his identity will take some time.
George Bivens, a lieutenant colonel with the Pennsylvania State Police, told reporters that the shots fired by the suspect were “scattered somewhat” and not aimed “just into one particular location.”
Biden spoke to Trump on Saturday evening, several hours after the former president survived an assassination attempt, the Hill reported, citing a White House official. The conversation took place just before Biden had left Pennsylvania for Washington, DC.
Congressman Ronny Jackson, a Republican from Texas, told Fox News that his nephew attended the Trump rally in Butler with a group of friends and “was grazed in the neck” during the shooting.
“They heard the shots, and everybody dropped to the ground,” Jackson said.
The FBI has identified the suspect as a man who is around 20 years old and is from Pennsylvania, several news outlets reported, citing law enforcement officials.
The identity of the suspect has not yet been released to the public.
In a brief email to his supporters, Trump promised to continue his presidential campaign no matter what. “I will never surrender!” he wrote.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was seriously wounded in a politically motivated shooting in 2017, told Fox News that what happened to Trump was “difficult to watch” and “brought back a lot of emotions.”
He added that “incendiary rhetoric needs to stop because all it takes is one person who’s just unhinged to hear that and go act on it.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has called for an investigation and vowed to summon Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and “other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI” to testify before Congress.
“The American people deserve to know the truth,” he said.
According to Bloomberg, Trump has been released from the hospital.
Biden, meanwhile, decided to cut short his planned stay at his beach house in Delaware for the weekend and will return to the White House just after midnight, the New York Post said, citing an updated schedule sent to the media.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, has said he is “horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe.”
The Department of Homeland Security is in contact with both Trump and Biden and is “taking every possible measure to ensure their safety and security,” Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on X.
A video posted to social media allegedly shows the suspected shooter’s body after he was killed by the Secret Service.
Police recovered an AR-style rifle at the scene, Associated Press reported, citing a source.
Witnesses previously told reporters that they heard up to 10 gunshots.
Trump’s daughter and former presidential adviser Ivanka Trump thanked Americans for “the love and prayers for my father and for the other victims of today’s senseless violence in Butler, Pennsylvania.”
The Secret Service released some details about the incident. “At approximately 6:15 pm, a suspected shooter fired multiple shots from an elevated outside of the rally,” spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
The suspect has been “neutralized.” One spectator was killed and two more were critically injured.
New York Times photographer Doug Mills managed to take a picture of the bullet that grazed Trump flying past his head, followed by a bloody red streak.
Trump has posted about the incident on his Truth Social platform, thanking the Secret Service and police for quickly responding to the shooter.
“Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured,” Trump wrote.
“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. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” he added.
President Biden has again condemned the shooting but stopped short of calling it an assassination attempt.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick,” Biden told reporters in brief remarks on Saturday evening. “We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.”
“But the idea, the idea that there’s political violence or violence in America like this is just unheard of. It’s just not appropriate. Everybody must condemn it,” he added.
Asked if he believed this was an assassination attempt at Trump, Biden said, “I don’t know enough. I have an opinion, but I don’t have any facts.”
“Sara and I were shocked by the apparent attack on President Trump,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. “We pray for his safety and speedy recovery.”
Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, rumored to be Trump’s likely running mate, accused the Democrats of inspiring the shooting.
“Today is not just some isolated incident. The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” he said. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, who had challenged Trump for the Republican nomination before endorsing him, dismissed Biden’s “ritual condemnation of political violence” as “insufficient and irrelevant.
“No amount of verbiage today changes the toxic national climate that led to this tragedy,” Ramaswamy said. “Today, the future survival of the United States of America came down to less than a hair’s width in the path of a bullet.”
“Regardless of who you vote for, let’s unite around the TRUTH that what happened today is unacceptable, now and forever,” he added.
President Joe Biden has condemned “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,” said a statement released by the White House.
Former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, denounced the assassination attempt.
“There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy. Although we don’t yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics. Michelle and I are wishing him a quick recovery,” he wrote on X.
While no one has taken responsibility for the attempt at Trump’s life, several Republican commentators have pointed out violent rhetoric and imagery coming from the Democrats in recent days.
Biden told donors on July 8 that “it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.” The June cover of the New Republic magazine showed Trump as Adolf Hitler. Meanwhile, major Democrat donor Reid Hoffman had responded to criticism of his funding of lawsuits against Trump by reportedly saying “I wish I had made him an actual martyr.”
13 July 2024
A close-up photo from the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday shows the injured Republican presidential candidate being rushed offstage after an assassination attempt.
A witness outside the rally told the BBC that he and his friends saw a man dressed in tan camouflage climbing onto the roof of a building with a rifle and warned the police about it.
“Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn, I’m pointing at that roof – and next thing you know, five shots rang out,” the man said.
He added that after the man shot at Trump, “Secret Service blew his head off.”
Former President George W. Bush, a political foe of Trump, issued a statement condemning the assassination attempt.
“Laura and I are grateful that President Trump is safe following the cowardly attack on his life. And we commend the men and women of the Secret Service for their speedy response,” Bush said.
“Now is the time for every American who loves our country to step back from the division, renounce all violence, and unite in prayer for President Trump and his family,” independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in response to the assassination attempt.
Pennsylvania Congressman Dan Meuser, who was in the front row at the rally, told reporters that he heard 8-10 shots that sounded like a .22 or a small-caliber weapon. He said it appeared “multiple people” in the crowd had been hit.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a prominent Democrat, condemned the shooting.
“Violence has NO place in our democracy. My thoughts are with President Trump and everyone impacted at the rally today,” Newsom said on X.
President Joe Biden is being briefed on the incident at the Trump rally by Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and his homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall, according to the White House.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger has said that two people are dead, including the apparent shooter.
The body being taken off the stands appears to have been one of the rallygoers.
“My thoughts and prayers are with President Donald Trump in these dark hours,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on X.
Orban had visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, as part of his diplomatic mission to peacefully resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
One person is believed to be dead, Pittsburgh ABC affiliate WTAE reported, citing Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldfinger. They did not say if that was the shooter.
“President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act. He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow,” campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.
There are unconfirmed reports that local police shot and killed the would-be assassin, who remains unidentified. A livestream from the rally showed several officers carrying a lifeless body away from one of the stands.
Elon Musk was one of the first to comment on the incident. “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” the owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X (formerly Twitter) wrote on social media.
Following the shooting, tech billionaire Elon Musk openly endorsed Trump.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote on X, which he owns. He had previously said he supported Trump’s policies, but had stopped short of a full endorsement.
“Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt,“ he added a few minutes later, referring to another presidential candidate who survived an assassination attempt in 1912.
A photo of bloodied Trump shaking his fist has quickly made rounds on social media. His son Donald Trump Jr. posted it on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, “He’ll never stop fighting to Save America.”
Trump was in the middle of an impassioned speech when the shots were heard.
“And then the worst president in the history of our country took over. And look what happened to our country. Probably 20 million people [came in illegally]... you want to really see something that sad, take a look at what happened over…” Trump said before shots rang out.
Local authorities believe one person at the rally was fatally shot, but have no confirmation or information about their identity. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and a Trump ally, also said that there might be at least one fatality.
There has been no information about the shooter.
At least three shots could be heard as Trump addressed a crowd of his supporters. The candidate clutched his right ear and ducked behind the podium. Secret Service agents quickly surrounded him.
As Trump’s microphone was still live, he could be heard telling them to “wait, wait” as he rose, put a fist up in the air, and mouthed “fight, fight” at the crowd, which cheered. The Republican presidential candidate was then taken to a hospital.