Donald Trump was grazed by A To shoot during a rally he attended on Saturday, July 13, in the city of Butler, Pennsylvania. After 6:10 p.m. local time, Trump stopped his speech after hearing several gunshots. The former president and Republican presidential candidate touched his ear and fell to the ground. His campaign reported that he was in good health, while a police source told CNN The shooting is being investigated as attempted murder.
Immediately after the shots were fired, Secret Service agents jumped in to protect him amid screams from the crowd. As Trump lay on the ground, more gunshots were heard. Surrounded by agents, Trump stood up blood-stained face and a visible wound on the right ear.
The shooter was shot and killed instantly.. One attendee at the rally died and another was seriously injured, Butler County police said. Secret Service agents confirmed the shooter had been killed.
According to videos from participants in the meeting, the shooter was on the roof of a nearby building. about 100 feet from where Trump spoke. There were security measures at the meeting, with metal detectors.
Trump, with the fist up, shouted “fight, fight” (in English: “fight, fight”) after asking officers to let him put on his shoes. The crowd chanted “USA, USA.” Trump was rushed to an armored car and driven to a nearby hospital, where he was treated.
In less than an hour, the Trump campaign reported that the former president was in good health and that his injuries were minor. Trump thanked police officers and doctors for the care they received.
Trump himself later said that a bullet hit him in the upper part of his right ear, very close to the skull. “I knew right away that something was wrong when I heard a whistle and gunshots and immediately noticed the bullet piercing the skin. There was a lot of blood so I realized what was going on», the former president said on his social network Truth Social.
The first shots were heard as the candidate spoke about one of the issues that most connects him to his electorate: the massive influx of undocumented immigrants.
The officers tried to evacuate the former president as quickly as possible, with some of the audience standing behind the frightened candidate. Some leaned forward and tried to protect themselves under their chairs. Others pointed to the right side of the stage, where the shots appeared to be coming from, amid cries of horror and panic.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said the former president was “fine” and was being treated at a medical center near the rally site.
US President and Trump's election rival Joe Biden was informed of the incident, which took place while he was attending mass at a church in Rehoboth, the Delaware coastal city where he spent a few days with no public agenda.
After the attack, signs of support for Trump poured in from top Republican officials. “He's the strongest man I've ever met in my life, nobody's been through what he's been through,” said South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. “He's never going to stop fighting to save the United States,” said his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is increasingly central to his campaign.
The attack came two days before the start of the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the conclave where Trump will be officially anointed as US president.
It comes at a time of weakness for Biden, who is battling internal efforts to have him abandon his candidacy after his disastrous performance in the first candidate debate last month. Yesterday’s images of Trump, his bloodied face, his fist raised against the backdrop of the American flag – an instant icon of modern American politics – are already being expected as a deciding factor in the New York billionaire’s attempt to achieve what had seemed impossible: a return to the White House.