Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at a political rally on Saturday, leaving the FBI hunting for information about how a gunman could attack a former US president. Here is a blow-by-blow account of the shooting in Pennsylvania, where one Trump supporter was killed.
Reacting to the assassination attempt, Trump said on Sunday that it was divine intervention that helped him survive the attempt and called on Americans to unite.
"It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening," the former US president and White House hopeful said on social media, urging fellow Americans to unite in "not allowing Evil to Win."
"In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united and show our true character as Americans, remaining strong and determined and not allowing evil to win," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Sunday morning, confirming that he would attend the Republican National Convention, which begins on Monday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, the US Secret Service has officially denied reports that the Trump team recently requested additional security and was refused.
"There is an untrue assertion that a member of the former president’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources, technology, and capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo," Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi clarified via social media.
How it unfolded
Dressed in a white shirt, dark blazer and bright red MAGA cap, Trump was railing against illegal immigration when shots rang out at 6:08 pm (2208 GMT). "Take a look at what happened..." he said, his words cut off by four shots in quick succession.
Trump grabbed his right ear as repeated shouts of "get down!" were heard, before a fifth and sixth shot. The former president crouched down behind the lectern as Secret Service agents moved in around him. Screams were heard in the crowd.
Within four seconds, further shots were fired, prompting more supporters to get down while additional agents rushed to the stage. Seventeen seconds after the first shots, a final pop was heard and a woman screamed. Three heavily-armed members of the security forces moved onto the stage 22 seconds after the shooting started.
Secret Service agents swiftly shared instructions, such as "we're clear" and "let's move," before they lifted up a dishevelled Trump.
Visible once more, around one minute after the gunfire started, Trump said, "let me get my shoes" as the agents formed a ring around him.
It's another 13 seconds until Trump raised his fist to the crowd, who responded with cheers. As the former leader was ushered off the stage, his MAGA cap in hand, onlookers chanted, "USA!"
Trump paused briefly to pump his fist in the air before stepping off the stage. Immediately before disappearing into an SUV and just two minutes after the assassination attempt started, Trump raised his fist once more and turned briefly towards the crowd.
As the car pulled away, heavily-armed security forces dressed in khaki fatigues moved onto the scene.
Trump says ' felt the bullet'
Trump gave his first account of the shooting at 8:42 pm, posting on his Truth Social site. "I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear," Trump wrote.
"I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin."
The White House said President Joe Biden was given an initial briefing on the incident by 6:50 pm.
"There's no place in America for this kind of violence. It's sick. It's sick," Biden told reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Shortly before 10:30 pm, Biden's office said he had spoken to Trump and would cut short his beach weekend to return to Washington.
An Associated Press analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos taken at the Trump rally, as well as satellite imagery of the site, shows the shooter was able to get astonishingly close to the stage where the former president was speaking.
A video posted to social media and geolocated by the AP shows the body of a man wearing gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a manufacturing plant just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds, where Trump’s rally was held.
The roof was less than 150 metres (yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target.
For reference, 150 metres is a distance at which US Army recruits must hit a scaled human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M16 assault rifle in basic training. The AR-15, like the shooter at the Trump rally had, is the semi-automatic civilian version of the military M16.
Shooter named
The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania's Bethel Park, according to US media. The attacker was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, US media reported.
As per public records, Crooks was registered to vote as a Republican but had also made a small donation to a Democratic-aligned group in 2021.
Crooks was named by the FBI "as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump."
The Secret Service said the shooter "fired multiple shots towards the stage from an elevated position outside the rally" before being "neutralized" by agents.
Members of the Secret Service's counter-sniper team and counter-assault team were at the rally, according to two law enforcement officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to discuss the details of the investigation.
The heavily-armed counter-assault team, whose Secret Service code name is “Hawkeye,” is responsible for eliminating threats so that other agents can shield and take away the person they are protecting.
The counter-sniper team, known by the code name “Hercules,” uses long-range binoculars and is equipped with sniper rifles to deal with long-range threats.
Multiple witnesses said they saw the gunman before the shooting and alerted authorities. Trump supporter Ryan Knight said he saw the attacker on a nearby building. "When I was sitting there, a guy said, 'oh God, he had a gun'," Knight told journalists.
Local police said they had "responded to a number of reports of suspicious activity" but gave no further details.
Victims
The gunman and a bystander were killed at the rally, while two spectators were critically wounded.
Two witnesses told US media they saw a man fatally shot in the head.
"The man beside me suffered a gunshot to the head, was instantly killed... Another woman looked like she got hit in the forearm or hand," a man, whose name was only given as Joseph, told NBC News.
A second witness, who said he was an emergency doctor, said he went to help after someone shouted that a person had been shot.
"The guy had spun around, was jammed between the benches. He had a headshot here," he said, indicating a spot on his head, in comments shared widely in US media.
"There's lots of blood and he had brain matter," said the man, who was wearing a white USA T-shirt stained with blood.
Biden speaks to Trump, condemns attack
US President Joe Biden led the condemnation after his election rival Donald Trump was wounded in an apparent assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, as some Republicans blamed the Biden campaign for the violence.
President Biden also spoke with his election rival Trump, a White House official said, adding that the US incumbent would receive an updated briefing from law enforcement officials on the incident on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, political leaders on both sides of the aisle slammed the attack minutes after the Republican candidate was rushed off stage by the Secret Service with blood running down his face.
"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 be like this, we cannot condone this," Biden told reporters in an emergency briefing in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
"The idea that there's political violence, or violence in America like this, is just unheard of. It's just not appropriate. Everybody, everybody must condemn it. Everybody," Biden said.
Vice President Kamala Harris said on X: "We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting."
Biden's former boss, Barack Obama, echoed his words in a statement, saying there was "absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy."
"Although we don't yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn't seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics," he said on X.
Former president George W. Bush condemned the "cowardly" attack.
"Laura and I are grateful that President Trump is safe following the cowardly attack on his life. And we commend the men and women of the Secret Service for their speedy response," the Republican said in a statement.
Bill and Hillary Clinton also condemned the violence.
"Hillary and I are thankful that President Trump is safe, heartbroken for all those affected by the attack at today's rally in Pennsylvania, and grateful for the swift action of the US Secret Service," the former president wrote on X.
But some prominent Republicans, including one of Trump's potential running mates, J.D. Vance, swiftly pointed the finger at Biden's reelection campaign.
"Today is not just some isolated incident," Vance wrote on X.
"The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination."
James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who is the House Oversight Committee chairman, said he contacted the Service for a briefing and called on Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. Comer said his committee will send a formal invitation soon.
“Political violence in all forms is unamerican and unacceptable. There are many questions and Americans demand answers,” Comer said in a statement.
From the Senate, top Democrat Chuck Schumer said he was "horrified" by the shooting, while his Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell slammed it as "despicable."
"I thank God that former President Trump is safe. As we learn more details about this horrifying incident, let us pray that all those in attendance at the former President's rally today are unharmed," former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote on X.
(With inputs from AFP, AP)
