Former President Donald Trump was rushed off the stage during a campaign rally on Saturday when gunshots rang out from the crowd.
Gunshots rang out as Trump delivered a speech in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Associated Press reported, “Trump can be seen reaching his right hand toward his neck. There appears to be blood on his face.”
Trump’s campaign quickly issued a statement saying the former president was “fine” and was being examined by medical professionals.
In video from the scene of the incident, Secret Service agents can be seen swarming Trump. As Trump left the podium surrounded by Secret Service agents, he could be seen pumping his fist in the air. Videos and photos from the scene show that Trump reached for his right ear when the gunfire rang out. When Trump exited the stage, he had a possible cut on the side of his head and appeared to have blood on his face.
A few hours later, Trump posted on Truth Social, “A bullet… pierced the upper part of my right ear. I immediately knew something was wrong because I heard a whooshing sound and… There was a gunshot and immediately I felt the bullet tearing the skin and there was a lot of bleeding, so I realized what was going on.
Shortly after the incident, the Secret Service issued a statement to CNN saying Trump was “safe” and that the investigation was ongoing. Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger confirmed to numerous news outlets that the shooter and a spectator were dead.
In a longer statement Saturday night, the Secret Service confirmed that a gunman fired “multiple shots” at Trump “from an elevated position outside the rally venue.” The Secret Service also confirmed that one participant at the rally was killed and two others were seriously injured in the shooting.
“I’m glad to hear he is safe and doing well,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Saturday night. “As we await further information, my prayers are with him and his family and all those who attended the rally.” U.S. This violence will not be tolerated. “
Reports from the scene showed the gunman was on the roof of a building near the rally grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, a mid-sized town north of Pittsburgh. Law enforcement officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that the incident was being investigated as an assassination attempt. It would be the first assassination attempt on a president or former president since Ronald Reagan was targeted in 1981.
It goes without saying that the potential for political violence in Pennsylvania on Saturday is abhorrent.
*UPDATE: This article has been updated to include statements from Trump, Biden, the Secret Service, and includes new information throughout.
