During Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, multiple gunshots were heard, with video footage showing the Republican presidential candidate raising a fist while being escorted to a vehicle by the US Secret Service.
The US Secret Service confirmed that the shooter was neutralized at the scene. The FBI identified the attacker as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The shooter was shot dead by police. One spectator was killed, and two others are critically injured.
According to a source who spoke to Reuters, the Secret Service is investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt.
The video showed blood on his ear, and armed law enforcement officers were then seen on a roof near the stage where Trump was standing.
President Joe Biden wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he had been briefed about the incident and was relieved that Trump is doing well. Biden added, "I am praying for [Trump] and his family and for all those who were at the rally as we await further information."
"Jill and I appreciate the Secret Service for getting him to safety. Violence like this has no place in America. We must unite as a nation to condemn it," Biden concluded.
Loud bangs were heard before Trump fell. Agents then assisted him to stand, and he had blood on his face. He shouted back to the crowd, raised his fist, and was then evacuated from the scene, according to CNN.
Following his evacuation by the Secret Service, Trump released a statement thanking the agents, offering his condolences to the family of the rally attendee who was killed, and recounting the events that took place.
"I want to thank The United States Secret Service and all of Law Enforcement for their rapid response to the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured," he wrote.
"It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. I 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. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!," Trump concluded.
* Reuters contributed to this report
