Earlier this evening, we all watched on bated breath as former President Donald Trump was whisked off the stage with blood on his face by multiple Secret Service agents at his Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally after several loud pops rang out through the crowd in what appears to be a possible assassination attempt.
In video footage of the incident that is quickly spreading across social media, former President Trump is seen suddenly crouching down as the loud noises ring throughout the rally. Multiple United States Secret Service agents immediately grab and surround the former president.
Trump was mid-sentence, showing off a chart of border crossing numbers when multiple, sudden, loud bangs began to ring out. The loud pops sounded like gunshots and Donald Trump immediately grasped at his neck and the side of his face with his right hand.
There appeared to be a significant amount of blood streaked across the right side of his face.
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Trump ducked behind the riser as agents of his Secret Service protective detail rushed the stage while screams rang out from the crowd. Even as agents swarmed the former president on the rally stage, the loud bang continued.
Donald Trump was seen attempting to fistbump and scream something intelligible at the crowd as his protective detail whisked him off the stage.
The ex-president’s campaign quickly released a statement to the public, confirming Donald Trump’s condition.
Trump’s spokesman Steven Cheung released a statement: “President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act. He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow.”
The US Secret Service also released a statement, confirming, “The former President is safe.”
The Guardian has since released multiple updates in their live coverage of the incident, including the account of one eyewitness, who told his story over the phone:
I’m in the front row centre with some friends, watching the president speak. He was speaking about immigration. He had a slide on the big screen, the jumbotron. I was watching him and then I heard some noises. I registered them as coming from my left as I look straight ahead at the president. I didn’t know what they were. I don’t have any training that would enable me to recognise gunshots from firecrackers from something else like that.
I was hoping that it was a prank, that it was a bad joke. I turned to my left. Didn’t see anything initially. I then turned back towards the president and that’s when I saw him essentially being tackled to the ground by the Secret Service. Then I heard some more noises, which at that point I believed to be shots, based on what the Secret Service was doing. I crouched down and then, seeing there were no more noises, got back up a little bit and tried to pay attention to what they were doing right behind the podium.
I could hear the Secret Service agents talking. I did not hear any call for medical. I did hear them begin to coordinate, let’s get ready to move him, do a countdown. and then they brought him out. I was really apprehensive that they were going to carry him, but instead he was on his feet and he was shaking his fist defiantly. I could see blood above his right ear. I can’t say where that came from. He could have cut his ear when they tackled him. He could have hit it on the podium. It could be from a gunshot or ricochet. I have no idea where it was.
There was clearly blood. I can’t even say if it was his blood; a Secret Serve agent could have cut their hand and transferred blood to his head. But I could tell that is was blood there so the natural inference is that he’s injured. I was optimistic based on the fact that he was not defiant, that he was shaking his fist, that they weren’t whisking him away super quickly, that they would allow him to do that, while they were around him protecting him. Just an incredible moment.
Clearly our country needs to do a better job of settling differences. This is not the path. Nobody believes this is the path. It was hard to have reactions when I didn’t know how serious it was. I was saying a prayer for him, as were many people. We got together. We were praying for his safety, I was cautiously optimistic based upon the way I saw him leave but you can’t always tell.”
The publication also confirmed, via the Butler County District Attorney, Richard A Goldinger, that the shooter, as well as one rally attendee, is deceased.
Find The Guardian’s full, live coverage of the incident here.
Featured image via screen capture
