A spectator was also dead after the shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania, the Secret Service said. Former President Donald J. Trump said in a post online that he had been “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part” of his ear.
Trump on social media described being ‘shot with a bullet’ that pierced his ear. Here’s the latest.
Former President Donald J. Trump was rushed to a hospital on Saturday after a shooting just minutes into his rally in Butler, Pa., that left one rally attendee and the suspected gunman dead and two other spectators critically injured, the Secret Service said in a statement.
Officials said the episode was being investigated as an assassination attempt. Mr. Trump was rushed off the stage bleeding from around his ear, and he later said in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, that he had been “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”
President Biden gave a brief televised statement after the incident, condemning the violence as “sick.”
Here’s what else to know:
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In his social media post, Mr. Trump thanked law enforcement officers for their quick response to the shooting and offered condolences to the family of the spectator who had been killed. In his social media post, he wrote, “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 realized then what was happening.” The Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies have not yet publicly confirmed that Mr. Trump was shot in the ear, saying only that shots were fired and that the former president was “safe.” Read more on Mr. Trump’s statement here.
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Mr. Biden, in brief televised remarks Saturday evening, expressed gratitude that Mr. Trump had been swiftly evacuated and said “there’s no place in America for this kind of violence.” He also said he had tried to reach the former president. Mr. Biden’s campaign said in a statement on Saturday night that it would pause “all outbound communications” and was working to “pull down our television ads as quickly as possible.” The move reflects a desire to put politics aside while the crisis of a likely assassination attempt on a presidential candidate plays out. Read more about the president’s response here.
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Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said that the suspected shooter fired “multiple shots toward the stage” and was on “an elevated position” outside the rally venue. Those who attend Mr. Trump’s campaign rallies are subject to security screenings and their belongings are searched for weapons. There are also typically law-enforcement officials stationed on nearby rooftops when possible.
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Mr. Trump had been showing supporters a chart of numbers about border crossings just minutes into his speech when shots rang out in two bursts. He ducked quickly after the noises began and as members of the crowd began to scream. He then was rushed off the stage by Secret Service agents. As he was escorted to his motorcade, Mr. Trump, whose face and right ear were bloodied, pumped his fist in a defiant gesture to the crowd. After he departed, a group of officials in camouflage escorted someone off a set of bleachers to the left of the stage. Read our reporter’s firsthand account of the scene here.
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Gov. Josh Shapiro, Democrat of Pennsylvania, said in a statement that he had been briefed and that the state police were on the scene working with federal partners. The Secret Service is leading the investigation, but the Justice Department, the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will assist, according to federal officials.
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Republicans and Democrats alike were quick to condemn what they viewed as an apparent act of political violence. “I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, said in a statement. Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, who was shot in 2017, said that “there is never any place for political violence.” Read more about the reaction here.
Reporting was contributed by Nicholas Nehamas, Campbell Robertson, Peter Baker and Katie Rogers.
