Gunshots were fired during a Donald Trump rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The former president was rushed off stage by security staff, with images showing blood stains on his right ear.
Several loud bangs were heard as Trump was giving a speech in the city of Butler. He quickly fell to the ground and was shielded by his security team.
Trump stood up several moments later and raised a clenched fist in the air. He was then escorted to his motorcade.
Trump later said that a bullet had grazed his ear. The suspected shooter was killed by the Secret Service.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, whom the FBI identified as the shooter in the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, was registered as a Republican on Pennsylvania’s state voter status records, the Washington Post has reported.
Sources earlier told the New York Post that Crooks targeted Trump from the roof of a manufacturing plant more than 130 yards (119m) away from the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter was killed by US Secret Service snipers. An AR-style rifle was later found near his body. The village of Bethel Park is located 40 miles (64km) south of Butler.
In a brief email to his supporters, Trump promised to continue his presidential campaign no matter what. “I will never surrender!” he wrote.
Leading politicians, including President Joe Biden, have condemned the assassination attempt.
