Former President and presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald J. Trump survived an assassin’s bullet Saturday afternoon at a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
The 78-year-old Trump was grazed by the sniper’s bullet on his upper right ear, which spurted blood as he was immediately taken to the ground by a number of Secret Service agents who formed a human shield to protect him.
The would-be assassin, identified later by authorities as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, PA, was immediately shot and killed by police snipers on a roof-top above the stage. Crooks had inexplicably succeeded in avoiding detection while securing a position atop a nearby building with clear sightlines to the stage approximately 150 yards away – a fairly easy shot for a reasonably experienced shooter.
Several experts interviewed after the shooting expressed amazement at the former President’s good luck, saying he would most likely have been killed were the bullet “one inch” to the right.
In a rather astonishing gesture given the circumstances, Trump, as he was taken away to a waiting vehicle, shook his fist defiantly towards the crowd screaming “fight, fight, fight,” prompting the crowd to chant “USA, USA, USA” in unison. Trump was then taken to a local hospital for treatment.
President Biden issued a brief statement condemning the attempt, and later went before cameras where he was reluctant to call the incident an “assassination attempt” before receiving further information.
An attendee of the rally was shot and killed during the incident, and two others are in critical condition with gunshot wounds.
The Trump campaign has announced that all events planned for the GOP national convention this week in Milwaukee will continue as normal.
