There was a suspected shooting at the scene of Trump's campaign rally, and a number of US media said that "Trump had blood on his ear when he evacuated.
(Source: Urban Express Orange Persimmon Interactive)
Former US President Donald Trump, a Republican, was killed in an "attempted assassination" at a campaign rally on Wednesday evening. The Trump campaign said he was "doing well." The U.S. Secret Service said the gunman was killed and one audience member was killed and two were wounded.
Us public opinion believes that in the context of the US election year, this "bad event" indicates that the US political polarization has intensified.
Mr. Trump tilted his head
The bullet hit the right ear
Live video shows that at the time, Trump gave a speech at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, just a few minutes, talking about immigration issues, is saying "look at what happened", his head slightly to one side, seems to be looking at the chart, suddenly raised his right hand to cover his right ear, hiding behind the podium. Secret Service agents surrounded him. The crowd crouched. Many analysts believe the tilt of Mr. Trump's head may have saved his life. The unnamed official said: "It was a short shot right in the face." Multiple shots were heard, and microphones could hear someone Shouting, "Get down, get down, get down." Several Secret Service agents formed a "flesh shield" around Trump and pinned him to the ground, with blood on Trump's right ear and cheek. Hearing that the gunman had been killed, Trump and the agents stood up. "Let me get the shoes, let me get the shoes," Trump can be heard saying in the video. The agent said, "Wait a minute, there's blood all over your head." Agents escorted Trump off the stage, and Trump, in a pose with his right hand raised in a fist, walked to his car as supporters cheered.
Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick said Trump had just invited him to the stage, and a minute later there was a series of seven or eight shots, bang bang bang, chaos, Secret Service agents jumping on top of the former president, and as Trump raised his fist, he looked back and saw someone in the bleachers behind the stage who had been hit. Trump's motorcade leaves the rally. Other secret service personnel took up positions on the podium, searching for the attackers and telling attendees to leave the venue.
The gunman fired eight shots, killing one audience member and wounding two others.
According to the US Secret Service, at about 18:15 on the 13th, a gunman from the roof outside the rally site "fired several shots" at Trump's podium, and the secret service killed the gunman. The local prosecutor said the gunman fired eight shots. One spectator was killed and two others were seriously injured. "At first it seemed like firecrackers were going off," said surgeon Joseph Mayne, who soon realized they were in a dangerous situation as he saw a man in the stands shot in the head and a woman shot in the arm, making it difficult to figure out where the shots were coming from. One of the bullets hit the speaker tower. Mayne saw another doctor already performing CPR on the injured woman. "I was the only one who did it," the doctor said. "Then a helicopter picked up the injured." Mayne helped carry the victim's body out of the stands and into the tent.
Texas Rep. Ronnie Jackson said his nephew was injured and "a bullet grazed his neck, cut his neck and bled." At the time the nephew was "in the pen of friends and family to the right of the president, slightly lower."
Trump said he heard whiz and gunshots.
Trump later posted on his "Real social" platform, describing the incident: "I was hit by a bullet, it went through the upper part of my right ear." I heard a whizz and a gunshot and immediately knew something was wrong and felt the bullet piercing my skin. A lot of blood came out and I realized what had happened."
"I can't believe this is happening in our country." "He wrote.
The Trump campaign said he was fine, and later said he was "doing well" and looking forward to attending the upcoming Republican National Convention.
Trump's daughter Ivanka issued a statement thanking law enforcement for their swift response: "Thank you for your love and prayers for my father and for the other victims of the senseless violence today in Butler, Pennsylvania. I thank the Secret Service and all other law enforcement personnel for their swift and decisive action today."
Witnesses saw someone with a gun climbing onto the roof, where Secret Service sniper rifles were all pointed.
One witness said he saw a gunman, 15 meters away from him on the roof, "can clearly see the gunman holding a rifle." Witnesses said he told police officers milling around: "Dude, there's a guy with a rifle climbing up there." The policeman said, "Ah, what?" The witness said: "The police didn't seem to know what was going on. I thought, why is Trump still speaking on stage, why not get rid of it? I was standing there pointing at him, and for two or three minutes, the Secret Service agents were looking at us, and I was pointing at the roof, and the next thing you know, five shots went off."
Writing on the Boston Globe's website, journalist James Pindell said two Secret Service agents scanned an area with large military-style green binoculars, then all agents pointed their sniper rifles in the same direction, and six minutes after Trump began speaking, there was a loud bang. He looked up and saw the agents firing in the direction the guns had been pointing. "I knew they were shooting because I could see smoke coming from the muzzle." "He wrote.
Shooter was 20 years old, registered Republican, donated to the Democratic Party.
The FBI identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, who was armed with an AR-15 type semiautomatic rifle. Investigators believe the gun was bought by his father six months ago. Previous voting records showed he was a registered Republican, but someone by that name had also donated $15 to Democrats, and his political leanings were unclear. This year he was old enough to vote for the first time. According to a June 22, 2022, Penn State Media report, Crooks, who graduated from Bethel Park High School that year, was one of 19 students to receive the National Math and Science Initiative Star Award, which was awarded $500. This is an award given by a non-profit organization. He has no criminal record in Pennsylvania or federal court databases. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the airspace over Crooks' hometown has been closed. His home is about 56 kilometers from the Trump campaign rally. His father said he was still trying to figure out "exactly what happened." U.S. law enforcement officials said the incident was being investigated as a "stabbing," and that the top priority was to determine the shooter's motive and whether others were involved. Anti-sniper, anti-assault agents were on the scene, and experts were shocked that the roof was unattended. McCormick said he and all attendees went through metal detectors before entering the rally. However, according to the geographical analysis, the gunman was 120 meters to 150 meters away from Trump. The Secret Service is investigating how the gunman was able to get so close and shoot Trump. This is a major failure in one of the core duties of the Secret Service. At the rally, there were Secret Service counter-sniper and counter-assault teams, the Associated Press reported. The anti-strike team is heavily armed and code-named "Hawkeye" and is tasked with eliminating threats. The counter-sniper team, codenamed "Hercules", uses long-range binoculars and is equipped with sniper rifles to deal with long-range threats.
Retired FBI agents Steve Moore and Bobby Chaiken were surprised no security personnel were on the rooftop where the gunman appeared.
"Having someone on a roof unwatched, undefended, may have been flawed in planning or execution, and they may have planned for that roof, and maybe something happened in the planning or execution of the plan that left the roof unguarded," said Moore, who served as a counter-sniper for two years. Chaken said, "That building... It is the closest building to the stage with a clear line of sight. I was shocked that they didn't have anyone on the roof."
Regarding witnesses reporting the shooter, Moore argued that while Secret Service agents may have been informed of the shooter's location, their view may have been "very obstructed." "You can't just say, 'Oh, there are people on the roof,' and shoot them." "All they have to do is watch and wait until they see a weapon." The problem is that in that part of the roof there may have been a thin wall covering him and hiding him." Moore said he expects "significant changes" to security procedures in the wake of the shooting, including an expanded cordon and more careful protection of gathering places. He said the Secret Service has to succeed every time, and the bad guys only have to succeed once.
Biden spoke with Trump to suspend his campaign.
The shooting rocked the American political establishment. The White House said the Secret Service and other security chiefs had briefed President Joseph Biden on the incident. Biden first issued a statement expressing relief at the news that Trump was "safe and well," saying that "this kind of violence has no place in America and the nation must be united in condemning it." About two hours later, Biden held an emergency news conference in his home state of Delaware, again stressing that "this cannot be repeated" and stating that the attack was an assassination attempt on Trump. He then returned to the White House early from a weekend vacation to monitor developments. Biden later spoke with Trump, the White House said.
The Biden campaign said that in light of the shooting, the team will suspend all campaign messages to supporters and temporarily suspend all television campaign ads.
