BUTLER, Pa. – Former President Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt on Saturday, when a gunman opened fire at his campaign rally, killing an audience member and bleeding Trump’s ear.
Outside the venue, the shooter, who was in a high position on the roof, was killed. Two more spectators were seriously injured. Trump’s campaign said he was safe.
FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek said during a midnight press conference that law enforcement agencies are not yet ready to identify the suspect who fired the shots. Rojek said that the investigators have not yet determined the motive.
In a terrifying and chaotic scene, gunshots were heard about six minutes before Trump was due to make his remarks in western Pennsylvania. The Republican presidential candidate grabbed her right ear and then climbed to the ground, where she was immediately pinned down by Secret Service agents who swarmed over her to protect her.
Agents then helped Trump to his feet, surrounded him and carried him off the stage to a waiting car. Trump, with blood on the side of his head and ear, repeatedly pumped his fist in the air and waved as the crowd cheered.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social about 2.5 hours later that the bullet “pierced the top of my right ear.”
“I knew right away that something was wrong because I heard a buzzing sound, a shot and immediately felt a bullet go through my skin,” Trump wrote. “There was a lot of bleeding, so I realized what was going on.”
In an online statement, Trump thanked the law enforcement agencies and expressed his condolences to the families of the dead and injured.
“It is incredible that such an act happened in our country,” he wrote.
According to three senior US law enforcement officials, the shots were fired from outside the Secret Service’s security perimeter for the rally.
Reporters saw smoke and heard what they first thought were fireworks as everyone waved and law enforcement surrounded Trump.
Screams were heard from the audience as soon as the stage opened.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement shortly after 11 p.m. that Trump had “already left the Butler area.”
Watch it Live updates on the shooting at the Trump rally
A doctor at the event told NBC News that he saw one person with a gunshot wound to the head and helped carry him away from the rally. Speaking in a parking lot near the event, a mother and son who attended the rally told NBC News they saw people injured and taken away in the crowd. Hours after the shooting, state Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, said in an interview with Fox News that his nephew was grazed in the neck by a bullet at a rally.
After Trump was taken away, people stayed at the scene for 10-15 minutes, after which they were told that this was an active crime scene and all participants were escorted away.
Trump’s spokesman Steven Cheung said Trump “thanks law enforcement and first responders for their swift action during this heinous act.”
“He is fine and is being checked at a local medical facility,” Cheung said. “More details to come.”
Trump’s top advisers and Republican National Committee leaders released a statement Saturday evening saying the former president “looks forward to joining you all in Milwaukee as we continue our convention to nominate him as the 47th President of the United States.” “
The Republican National Convention, where Trump will officially be the GOP presidential nominee, begins Monday.
The FBI is leading the investigation
The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting, according to a statement from the bureau. Officials said at a press conference late Saturday that agents are working alongside the U.S. Secret Service, as well as state and local law enforcement agencies, who are treating the rally area as an active crime scene.
Federal investigators have initially identified the suspect in the shooting as a man from Pennsylvania, according to five senior U.S. law enforcement officials.
FBI Special Agent Rojek said at a news conference Saturday in Butler that law enforcement is trying to identify the suspect using his DNA because he had no identification on him at the time of the shooting.
After the shooting, the FBI deployed investigators, bomb squads and evidence responders. Intelligence analysts are also working to identify the shooter.
Rojek asked witnesses to the shooting to contact the FBI.
A US official said early Saturday that there was no indication that the attack was linked to a foreign actor.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., In his statement to X, he said that he received information from law enforcement agencies. He condemned the attack as a “horrific act of political violence at a peaceful campaign rally” and said it “has no place in this country and must be condemned unanimously and forcefully”.
Johnson said in a next post He said that the House of Representatives will conduct a “full investigation of today’s tragic events.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky statement In X, he said he “subpoenaed Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing.”
In a letter to Cheatle, Comer volunteered to attend the July 22 committee meeting.
Biden, the political world is reacting
According to a White House official, President Joe Biden spoke with Trump on Saturday. He also spoke with Shapiro and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy.
In a statement from Delaware, Biden called the attack “sick” and thanked law enforcement in his on-camera remarks.
“This kind of violence has no place in America. This is sick. It’s sick,” Biden said. “That’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country. We can’t let that happen.”
“Everybody should condemn it,” Biden said.
Asked by a reporter whether he believed the attack on Trump was an attempted assassination, Biden said he “didn’t know enough” to say at the time.
“I have an opinion, but I don’t have any facts,” he said, adding that he wanted to gather all the facts first.
Biden also said in his statement that he prayed for Trump. He said that he was informed about the shooting.
“I am grateful to hear that he is safe and doing well. I am praying for his family and everyone at the rally as we wait for more information,” Biden said in a statement. “Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. This kind of violence has no place in America. We must unite as a nation to condemn it.”
According to a person familiar with the timeline of events, Biden learned of the attack when he left church services. The source added that he wanted to address the public as soon as he received complete information.
He said in his statement that Vice President Kamala Harris was also informed.
She said her husband, Doug Emhoff, is “relieved he was not seriously injured. We pray for him, his family and all those injured and affected by this senseless shooting.”
He added that “there is no place for such violence in our nation” and urged everyone to “condemn this heinous act”.
Minutes after the incident, politicians began posting on social media that they were praying for Trump, including three vice-presidential candidate Senators. JD VanceSen. R-Ohio. Marco RubioR-Fla. and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
One of the president’s children, Donald Trump Jr. He wrote in X his father “will never stop fighting to save America.” His message was accompanied by a photo of his father rubbing his bloody fist.
Democratic leaders also issued statements expressing horror.
“I am appalled by what happened at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. he said hen X. “There is no place for political violence in our country.”
Shapiro, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, also condemned the attack on X.
“Violence against any political party or political leader is absolutely unacceptable” Shapiro said. “This has no place in Pennsylvania or the United States.”
Shapiro added that he has been notified of the situation and state police are on the scene working with federal and local partners.
Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy called on Americans to pray for Trump.
“Now is the time for every American who loves our country to step back from division, stop all violence, and unite in prayer for President Trump and his family.” Kennedy said.
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who was shot in 2011, released a statement condemning political violence.
“Political violence is terrible. I know,” he said. “My heart goes out to former President Trump and all those affected by today’s indefensible act of violence. “Political violence is un-American and is never acceptable – ever.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who was shot and wounded when a gunman opened fire on Republicans during a baseball practice in 2017, before the attack denounced “inflammatory rhetoric” about Trump’s second term as a threat to the country.
“This inflammatory rhetoric has to stop because it just takes one person to hear it and take action and think this is their signal to take somebody out,” Scalise said during an interview with Fox News.
Trump’s campaign is in a “total communications blackout,” according to a message to staff members from the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee political director James Blair.
“Everything is fine,” Blair said, “We don’t have any details to share right now, but we’ll have more information soon.”
A Biden campaign official told NBC News that the campaign is also “ceasing all outgoing communications and trying to pull our television ads as quickly as possible.”
This is the latest news story and will continue to be updated.
Dasha Burns and Jake Traylor, Butler, Pa.; Megan Lebovitz of Washington; and Chloe Atkins, Tom Winter and Jonathan Dienst of New York.