Just days before he was set to accept the Republican nomination for the third time, former US President Donald Trump faced an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The rally descended into chaos as gunshots rang out, and a bleeding Trump—who reported being shot in the ear—was quickly surrounded by Secret Service agents who rushed him to his SUV. He managed a defiant fist pump as he departed.
Trump’s team later confirmed that the presumptive Republican nominee was “fine” after the incident, which he described as having pierced the top part of his right ear.
“Once I felt the bullet graze my skin and heard the zipping of bullets, I knew something was wrong. There was a lot of bleeding,” Trump stated on social media.
The FBI identified the would-be assassin as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, early on Sunday. The investigation into the attack remains ongoing.
Officials reported that two spectators were seriously injured and one attendee died, all of whom were men. The Secret Service confirmed that Trump was safe and that they had neutralized the shooter, who had ambushed the rally from an elevated position at an agricultural fair in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In a press conference late Saturday, the FBI revealed that they had not yet established a motive for the assassination attempt and were not prepared to disclose the shooter’s identity.
This incident marks the most significant attempt on a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. It has reignited concerns about political violence in a highly polarized United States, especially with less than four months until the presidential election. This event is likely to influence the atmosphere and security protocols at the Republican National Convention, which is set to begin in Milwaukee on Monday.
Organizers have confirmed that the convention will proceed as planned.
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