The shots were fired during Trump’s speech. He clutched his right ear and then dropped to his knees behind the podium. Secret Service agents quickly covered him.
The shooter was shot dead, one rally attendee was killed and two other spectators were injured, the Secret Service said in a statement. The incident is being investigated as an assassination attempt.
In the statement on Sunday following the incident, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved.” According to the state's voter records, the man was registered as a Republican.
Following the assassination attempt, Trump took to his Truth Social platform saying: “I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response.”
“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country.”
The shooting occurred less than four months before the upcoming November 5 election, when the former U.S. president faces an election rematch with the incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden. The majority of opinion polls show the two locked in a close contest.
’No place for such violence’
Leading Democrats and Republicans quickly condemned the attack.
“There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
“I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally.”
Republican U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson of Texas told Fox News his nephew had been wounded at the rally.
The shooting raised immediate questions about security failures by the Secret Service, which provides former presidents, including Trump, with lifetime protection.
It was the first shooting of a U.S. president or major party candidate since the 1981 attempted assassination of Republican President Ronald Reagan.
