Former president Donald Trump and presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election appears to have been shot at by a sniper during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Video of the incident show Trump was graced by potential bullets, and was bloodied on his head close to his ear, and escorted defiantly off the stage by secret service agents.
Preliminary news reports say that the suspected shooter is deceased, including a rally attendee. There are also reports of two critically injured people.
What to know, according to the Associated Press:
- What happened: Trump was showing off a chart of border crossing numbers when a popping sound was heard, and the former president put his right hand up to his right ear. It’s still not clear yet whether Trump was struck by gunfire or was injured as he was pulled to the ground by agents.
- What we know about the shooter: Two officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. They said the shooter was not an attendee at the rally and was killed by U.S. Secret Service agents. Law enforcement recovered an AR-style rifle at the scene, an AP source says.
- Biden’s response: In a televised address, the president said “everybody must condemn” the attack, he is relieved that Trump is reportedly “doing well”. His campaign said it’s pausing all messaging to supporters and is working to pull down all of its television ads as quickly as possible.
HERE’s the full early report from the AP.