Donald Trump was injured after a gunman opened fire during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The former president was rushed off stage after what the FBI is now calling an assassination attempt. Footage showed him grimace and raise a hand to his right ear, before ducking as several sharp cracks – a series of shots – broke out
In a post to his Truth Social network, Trump said a bullet pierced the “upper part” of his right ear and thanked the Secret Service. He left hospital shortly after receiving treatment
The gunman has been shot dead by Secret Service agents. At a news conference, the FBI said that they were waiting for DNA results to come in before naming him – this is expected to happen in the coming hours
The shooting also killed one bystander and injured two others. Authorities say all three victims are adult males
President Joe Biden has strongly condemned the “sick” attack, adding, “There’s no place in America for this kind of violence”. He has also spoken to Trump.
The attack on Donald Trump at his campaign rally in Pennsylvania has put the spotlight on the apparent security lapse and some are also pointing fingers at the Secret Service for letting an attacker slip by.
The former president himself did thank the Secret Service and other law enforcement “for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place”.
But questions are being raised and some are calling it a “complete failure” on the part of the Secret Service.
US House Speaker Speaker Mike Johnson vowed that the House will conduct a full investigation.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the speaker said: “The American people deserve to know the truth.
“We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP.”
The Secret Service has agreed to brief the House Oversight Committee about the attack, a spokesperson confirmed to The Hill.
“He (Trump) does get a very robust former protection detail that is with him all the time. But he doesn’t necessarily get all of the different assets that are available. So, I think that there are some aspects of this incident that are going to be investigated,” retired Secret Service Supervisor Bobby McDonald told Reuters.
“The Secret Service will now look at what happened and how that they can again develop and continue to enhance their protective methodologies to make sure that things like this do not happen in the future.”
FBI calls shooting an assassination attempt
At the start of the press conference, FBI field officer Kevin Rojek confirmed that the incident was being treated as an assassination attempt.
“This evening we had what we’re calling an assassination attempt on our former president Donald J Trump,” he said.
“It’s still an active crime scene,” he added, pointing out that they had a number of agents on the scene investigating the incident.
