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Former president Donald Trump was shot in the ear during a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania but said he was “fine” despite the injury. Now, law enforcement is launching an investigation with a scope that has not been seen in the US in more than 40 years.
A person in the crowd was killed and two others were injured during the shooting. Secret Service agents killed the unidentified gunman, who fired at the crowd from outside the perimeter.
Around 6 p.m. Saturday — after Trump was on stage for about 15 minutes in Butler, Pennsylvania — around seven or eight popping sounds were heard. The former president dropped behind a podium as his Secret Service detail swarmed him. He was hoisted and removed from the stage by several agents with blood on his right ear and down his cheek.
A post on Trump’s Truth Social account says that he “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,” the post added.
The shooting is being considered an assassination attempt, according to law enforcement.
In remarks from Delaware, President Joe Biden said that “there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick.”
“We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this,” he added.
The president spoke with Trump late on Saturday night, according to the White House.
FBI calls the shooting an ‘assassination attempt’ in press conference
Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office Kevin P Rojek said they were classifying Trump’s shooting at his rally as an “assassination attempt against our former president Donald Trump”.
He said they were “not prepared to identify who the shooter is” till they were “100 per cent confident”. They have also not yet identified a motive.
An official said the law enforcement agency was currently “looking at photographs” and “trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation”.
ABC News reported that law enforcement officials said the suspect was perched on a rooftop and used an AR-style rifle.
“At this time we have no reason to believe there is any other existing threat out there,” added Lt. Col. George Bivens of Pennsylvania state police.
The FBI had no prior threat information related to this event.
Investigators have tentatively identified Trump shooter
Federal investigators have made a tentative identification of the man who shot at Trump today at the former president’s rally in Pennsylvania.
The FBI said he was approximately 20 years old, male, and from Pennsylvania.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemns the shooting
The latest message of concern comes from India’s prime minister Modi who posted a message on hoping for Trump’s “speedy recovery”.
“Deeply concerned by the attack on my friend, former President Donald Trump. Strongly condemn the incident. Violence has no place in politics and democracies. Wish him speedy recovery.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased, those injured and the American people.”
Pennsylvania governor says Trump has left Butler
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro posted on X, stating that Trump departed Butler “under the protection of the US Secret Service and with assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police”.
Shapiro said that federal law enforcement will lead the investigation into the shooting at the rally while “Pennsylvania State Police will lead the investigation into the shooting of the other victims”.
He also said that he was “in regular communication with law enforcement on the ground in Pennsylvania and have spoken with President Biden who offered his full support”.
WATCH: Trump leaves hospital after assassination attempt
Trump supporters receive email after shooting: ‘I will never surrender!’
Donald Trump sent an email to his supporters with a short message after being injured by a shooting at his Pennsylvania rally.
“THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM DONALD TRUMP,” the brief email read. “I WILL NEVER SURRENDER!”
FBI to lead investigation into shooting
The FBI has said that it “has assumed the role of the lead federal law enforcement agency” that is investigating Trump’s shooting.
“Special agents of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office responded immediately, to include crisis response team members and evidence response technicians,” the bureau said.
“We will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of the FBI, alongside our partners at the US Secret Service and state and local law enforcement. Anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is asked to call our tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
WATCH: Frantic video from Trump rally crowd shows chaos during shooting
Dan Meuser describes the scene at the Trump rally: ‘It was just a lot of mayhem’
Rep. Dan Meuser was in the front row with other Republican elected officials and candidates when the shots were fired.
“It was pretty clear after the first pop that it was gunfire,” he told the AP. “My eyes were glued on Trump,” he said. “It was just a lot of mayhem, and a terrible, terrible tragedy—a terrible shame.”
The congressman added that he had met with Trump earlier in the evening and that Trump was “loose” and “cool” and made jokes.
Meuser said he hoped for a more balanced approach going forward. “The level of lack of civility and hostility—maybe this will send a ringing signal to all those to cool it,” he said.
Biden and Harris receive post-shooting briefing
After his brief remarks on Saturday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris received an updated briefing from the following homeland security and law enforcement officials, according to the White House.
Secret Service director Kim Cheatle, Homeland Security director Alejandro Mayorkas, Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI director Christopher Wray were among officials who briefed the president and vice president.
Source: independent.co.uk
