US President Joe Biden has condemned the attempt to assassinate his election rival Donald Trump in a shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Several shots were fired as the former president and Republican frontrunner was delivering a speech in the city of Butler. Trump was wounded in the right ear but received no other injuries.
“I am 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,” Biden told reporters hours after the incident. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America.”
“We cannot allow this to be happening,” Biden said. The president added that he is hoping to speak to Trump soon.
After the shots were fired, Trump first ducked to the ground before standing several moments later and defiantly pumping the air. He was then escorted off stage by Secret Service agents. He was taken to a hospital and later wrote on social media that a bullet “pierced the upper part of my right ear.”
According to the Secret Service, its agents “neutralized” the suspected shooter. It added that one spectator had been killed and two were critically injured.