At a campaign rally on Saturday, Donald Trump was shot in the ear, a move that would undoubtedly change the presidential election and raise doubts about his security.
Trump’s security officers surrounded and covered him after the incident. He appeared with blood on his face and pumped his fist, shouting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
However, the Trump team reported that he was “doing well” and had no severe injuries.
The FBI named 20-year-old Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, resident Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in an attempted assassination early Sunday. He was a Republican, per state voting records.
The Secret Service claimed agents shot and killed the suspect. One rallygoer died, and two were badly injured.
Law enforcement officials informed reporters they had not determined the attack’s purpose.
The gunfire came as Trump, 78, began his remarks. He kneeled below the podium before Secret Service personnel covered him after grabbing his right ear and looking at it.
After a minute, he removed his red “Make America Great Again” cap. He said, “wait, wait,” and pumped his fist. Then agents rushed him to a black SUV.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump stated on Truth Social after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, 30 miles (50 km) north of Pittsburgh. “Much bleeding took place.”
Trump departed Butler under Secret Service protection and arrived at his Bedminster golf club.
It was the first shooting of a U.S. president or major party candidate since the 1981 Reagan assassination attempt.
It generated immediate questions about Secret Service security failings, which protects former presidents like Trump for life.
The shooting occurred fewer than four months before Trump’s rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden on Nov. 5.
Comment Template