Former U.S. President Donald Trump is “safe and being evaluated” after an assassination attempt at a rally in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
The Secret Service has confirmed that the suspected shooter and one spectator have been killed. Two other spectators are critically injured.
President Joe Biden responded saying “there’s no place in America for this kind of violence”.
What happened
At 6.15pm on Saturday (local time), former President Donald Trump, who is campaigning to win the 2024 U.S. election, was shot at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The bullet hit Trump’s ear.
Trump was then hurried off the stage by the Secret Service.
The Secret Service says the suspected shooter fired shots “from an elevated position outside of the rally venue”. It said Secret Service personnel then “neutralized” the shooter, who is now confirmed dead.
Trump’s response to assassination attempt
Trump has released a statement thanking the Secret Service and sending his condolences to the family of the spectator who was killed and to the person injured.
He added: “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!”
Biden’s response
President Joe Biden held a press conference shortly after the incident.
He said: “I have tried to get a hold of Donald. He’s with his doctors, apparently he’s doing well…
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country…
“The bottom line is that the Trump rally was a rally that he should have been able to conduct peacefully without any problem.”
History of assassination attempts
This is the first time a current or former U.S. president has been injured from an assassination attempt since Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in 1981.
Four U.S. Presidents have been assassinated: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901) and John F. Kennedy (1963).
Theodore Roosevelt (1912) and Ronald Reagan (1981) were wounded from assassination attempts. There have been several other plots that have been foiled.
U.S. law mandates that all former presidents receive Secret Service protection for the rest of their lives.
