Published 12:28 IST, July 14th 2024

Donald Trump Assassination Attempt: What We Know And Don't Know Of The Shooting

Gunshots were fired at Trump during his rally in Pennsylvania today in an 'assassination attempt'; here's what we know so far about the horrific incident.

Reported by: Ananya Srivastava
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Trump Rally Shooting - What We Know So Far | Image: Republic
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Pennsylvania: An ‘assassination attempt’ was made on the US Presidential candidate of the Republicans and former US President Donald Trump during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Trump, who was shot at in the ear, is now safe, the incident resulted in the death of one audience member and it injured two others.

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The shooter is dead and investigation is underway to understand what led to the incident, the motive behind it and who was the shooter.

Assassination Attempt On Donald Trump: Here's What We Know So Far - 10 Points

Here's what we know so far, about the alleged ‘assassination bid’ on Donald Trump, months before the US Presidential Elections 2024…

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  • Donald Trump was addressing a rally in Pennsylvania when out of nowhere, gunshots were fired at him, causing him to duck after a gunshot pierced through his ear leaving him bloodied.
  • On being shot, Trump immediately ducked and hid behind the podium; multiple gunshots followed and immediately, the Secret Security Service came forward on stage to protect him. He was surrounded by them and was taken away from the stage; Trump was conscious after the attack and was seen shouting ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ with his hand raised up in the air. 
  • Trump, who is now ‘fine’ and has been discharged from the hospital, in his first statement after the ‘assassination attempt’, said in a social media post, "I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. Knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. God bless America!”
  • According to the Secret Service, the shooter fired from an ‘elevated place’ and was not one of the attendees of Trump's event; an AR-Style Rifle has also been recovered from the rally venue. As of now, not many details about the shooter or his motive behind the firing have been found yet; an investigation is underway.
  • The secret service agents have killed the shooter and while the former President is safe, the gunshots were fatal for an attendee and also injured two others. Thanking the Secret Service and condoling the death of the person killed, Trump thanked the "US Secret Service and law endorsement for their 'rapid response' and also extended his condolences to the family of the person at the rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured."
  • The moment of the gunshot and it hitting the former US President has been caught on camera. The video begins with Trump addressing his supporters and he is speaking when suddenly gunshots are heard, one has hit him, making him duck immediately and hide behind his podium.
  • An eyewitness told BBC that he informed both the police and Secret Service about a suspicious man on a roof with a rifle adjacent to Trump's rally but his frantic calls for help were ignored. Reports said that the shooter was positioned only "400 to 500 meters", quoting eyewitnesses.
  • Joe Biden has condemned the attack on Trump; in a statement, he said, “I've been thoroughly briefed by all the agencies in the federal government as to the situation based on what we know now, I have tried to get hold of Donald, he's with his doctors and doing well. I plan on talking to them shortly, I hope when I get back to the telephone. Look, there's no place in America for this kind of violence. It's sick..”
  • The attack on Trump has also been condemned by various other US and international leaders including US Vice President Kamala Harris, former US Presidents Barack Obama and George Bush, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni among others.
  • 'The FBI has ‘assumed the role of the lead federal law agency in the investigation of the incident involving former US President Donald Trump… we will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of FBI, alongside our partners at the US Secret Service and state and local law enforcement,’ - FBI issues statement after attack on Trump, announces its involvement in the investigation. 
  • According to Hindu Action Chief Utsav Chakrabarti, ‘Political divisiveness in USA one of the main reasons behind this incident.’
  • The Motive behind the alleged assassination attempt is yet to be determined; here's what the FBI said in their first press conference after the shooting.
  • The FBI has defended the Secret Service at the press briefing post the attack on Donald Trump
  • Hindu Action chief Utsav Chakrabarti says that there has been an absolute failure of security and there is no doubt about that.
  • The shooter who was killed by the Secret Service agents for attacking Trump has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks by the FBI. The 20-year-old was a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania which was about 40 miles south of the Butler rally; he used an AR-Style rifle. According to reports, Thomas Matthew Crooks had positioned himself almost 130 yards away from the stage where Trump was standing for the rally; he had fired gunshots from the roof. 
  • Donald Trump has landed in New Jersey after the accident and will be spending the night at his private golf club.
  • This is how the whole shooting incident unfolded at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania.
  • Several visuals have surfaced wherein the shooter can be seen positioned atop an elevated structure. According to media reports, the gunman man was positioned on the roof of a manufacturing plant near the rally venue.
  • "Trump was fortunately looking in the other direction when the bullet grazed his ears. If he was looking straight, we would have lost Trump": Close aide Shalabh Kumar tells Republic
  • A photo has now been revealed from the time of the incident in Pennsylvania and it shows how a bullet missed Donald Trump by just a few inches; it flies past the former US President's cheeks.
  • There are several tweets on the social media platform ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter), which have hinted at a Simpsons prediction of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, years ago. The tweets show photographs of an animated man who looks eerily similar to Donald Trump; he is lying in a coffin.

08:20 IST, July 14th 2024