During a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt and was shot in the ear – reportedly by a sniper positioned on a rooftop near the event.
Trump escaped with minor injuries, but another rally attendee was shot dead and two others were injured. The shooter has been identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was himself killed by the Secret Service after the attack.
– We saw a lot of people go down, looking confused. I heard the shots, it sounded like between firecrackers and a small caliber handgun, John Yeykal, who attended the campaign rally, told AFP.
Trump fell silent mid-speech and as he began to bleed from the ear and banging was heard, it soon became clear he had been hit and he was escorted away by security – but not before raising his fist and urging the crowd to “fight, fight, fight!”.
This is the full clip.
1- shots on trump
2- ss returns fire
3- you hear “shooter is down”
4- they stand trump up
5- he asks to get his shoes
6- fist pumps and fightTruly unreal.
— tyler hogge (@thogge) July 13, 2024
– He [the shooter] had a rifle, we could clearly see a rifle. We’re pointing at him, the police are down there running around on the ground, we’re like ‘Hey man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle’… and the police did not know what was going on, a witness told the BBC.
The motive of the shooter is currently undetermined and there are many theories floating around on social media – including that Crooks was a disgruntled registered Republican voter.
– There’s going to be a long investigation into exactly what took place and how the individual was able to get access to the location, what type of weapon he had. All that is really days, weeks, and months of investigation, said Kevin Rojek of the FBI.
“Knew something was wrong”
Trump was taken to a New Jersey hospital and confirmed Sunday morning that he was shot in his right ear.
“I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. 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”, he wrote in a statement.
“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. 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”, he further explained, ending the message with “God bless America”.
From a historical perspective, attempts by hostile forces to kill high-ranking American politicians are not uncommon. Presidents Theodor Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, for example, all survived one or more assassination attempts. Four sitting presidents have also been assassinated over the years – Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy.
🚨BREAKING: CLEAREST VIDEO OF THOMAS MATTHEW CROOKS SHOOTING AT PRESIDENT TRUMP‼️
A newly obtained video from TMZ shows the shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, firing at former President Donald Trump before being shot. In the background, a woman is heard… pic.twitter.com/UxQTwPOMIU
— Only Mob King 🇺🇸 (@OnlyMobKing) July 14, 2024
