Updates: Donald Trump shot at rally in Pennsylvania
At a Trump presidential campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, about 33 miles north of Pittsburgh, temperatures were in the 70s, with sunny and pleasant conditions. Those pleasant conditions changed at approximately 6:15 p.m. The former president was at the podium speaking to the crowd when according to those on the scene, about 6 – 10 gunshots rang out. After one of those pops, Donald Trump can be seen on video putting his hand to his ear then looking at his bloodied hand before he was tackled to the ground by the U.S. Secret Service.
Not long after he was whisked off the stage, the Secret Service announced that “Trump was safe” after an assassin’s bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. He was treated at a local Pennsylvania hospital and then returned to his New Jersey home that same night.
(Image credits: Twitter)
The FBI later identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the failed assassination attempt. Tragically, one attendee at the rally died from the assassin’s gunfire, and two more were critically injured. The Secret Service reported that their agents were able to return fire, killing the shooter who fired his weapon at the former U.S. president from an elevated position outside the rally venue.
Former President Trump released the following statement on his social media site, Truth Social, at 8:42 p.m. on the night of his failed assassination attempt:
I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on 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. 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!
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Not long after Trump’s assassination attempt, President Joe Biden released a statement from Delaware saying: “I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information. Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.“
At a press conference later in the evening from the White House, Biden added,
There’s no place in America for this kind of violence, it’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country.”
“We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this.”
“The bottom line is, the Trump rally is a rally that he should have been able to conduct peacefully without any problem.”
“The idea that there’s political violence or violence in America like this, is just unheard of. It’s just not appropriate.”
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We should be seeing Donald Trump again sometime soon after the Republican National Convention kicks off on Monday in Milwaukee. Organizers said the convention would proceed as planned, albeit with heightened security.
A GoFundMe account authorized by Trump and organized under the name of Meredith ORourke is in place and accepting donations for the supporters and families of those wounded or killed in yesterday’s shootings.
For more on the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump, see the video accompanying this article.
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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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