 "Donald Trump shooting: What happened in the aftermath of the tragedy? Is the former US president safe?")
Former US President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt on Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally.
Panic ensued as a flurry of gunshots erupted, leaving a bleeding Trump, who was shot in the ear, surrounded by Secret Service agents as he scurried to his SUV and raised his fist in defiance.
The aftermath
Trump was showing off a chart of border crossing numbers when the gunfire began after 6.10 pm. As the first pop rang out, Trump said, “Oh,” and then raised his hand to his right ear and looked at it, before quickly crouching to the ground behind his lectern.
The people in the stands behind him also crouched down as screams rang through the crowd.
Someone could be heard near the microphone saying, “Get down, get down, get down, get down!” as agents rushed to the stage.
After the shots rang out and Trump was hustled offstage, agents in black uniforms carrying rifles, the agency’s Counter-Assault team, flooded the stage.
The crowd stayed low.
Some had heard the bullets ricocheting off the grandstand, severing a hydraulic line connecting to the speakers, which began to topple. Others quickly called family or looked on their phones to find out what had happened to the former president.
Video showed Trump turning back to the crowd and raising a fist right before he was put into a vehicle.
The former US President flew to New Jersey after visiting a local hospital in Butler and was later released.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsShortly after, he left and reached Newark Liberty International Airport at midnight.
A video posted by an aide showed the former president deplaning his private jet flanked by US Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counter-assault team, an unusually visible show of force by his protective detail.
The police and the Secret Service then ushered everyone out.
An hour after the shooting, the vast field was declared a crime scene, littered with empty plastic water bottles and soggy cardboard containers that once held cheese fries.
More on the Donald Trump shooting:
How former US president escaped an assassination attempt
Did Secret Service ignore warnings of a gunman?
What we know and don’t know of the shooting
Trump’s condition
According to a statement on the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) external website, Trump is “doing well” and is grateful to law enforcement officers.
“He looks forward to joining you all in Milwaukee as we proceed with our convention to nominate him to serve as the 47th president of the United States. As our party’s nominee… (he) will continue to share his vision to Make America Great Again,” the statement reads.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, released a statement on Saturday evening that the 78-year-old was fine and being looked at a medical facility.
Trump also released a statement on his Truth Social platform thanking the Secret Service and all law enforcement.
“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. Much bleeding took place, so I realised then what was happening. GOB BLESS AMERICA!”
The former president also extended his condolences to the family of the person killed at the rally.
Shooter’s identity revealed
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) leads the investigation, along with the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement.
The FBI early Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle briefed President Joe Biden and are working with law enforcement partners to respond to and investigate the shooting, Mayorkas said on X.
Republican US House Speaker Mike Johnson also said the House will conduct a full investigation of the attack on Trump’s campaign rally. “The American people deserve to know the truth,” Johnson said. “We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP.”
The investigation continues
The US Secret Service is investigating how the gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get close enough to shoot and injure Trump.
The gunman, who was killed by Secret Service personnel, fired multiple shots at the stage from an “elevated position outside of the rally venue,” the agency said.
A video posted to social media shows the body of a man wearing gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a manufacturing plant just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds, where Trump’s rally was held.
The roof was less than 150 metres (yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. For reference, 150 metres is a distance at which US Army recruits must hit a scaled human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M16 assault rifle in basic training. The AR-15, like the shooter at the Trump rally, is the semi-automatic civilian version of the military M16.
Leading Republicans and Democrats quickly condemned the violence.
The Trump campaign said he was “doing well.”
Biden said in a statement: “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”
Republican US Representative Ronny Jackson of Texas told Fox News his nephew had been wounded at the rally.
With inputs from agencies
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