'We Will Fear Not': Donald Trump's New Statement After Assassination Bid in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania: Former US President and Republican nominee, Donald Trump on Sunday posted a new statement after he was injured in a sensational assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania's Butler on Saturday. Former US President Trump said he looks forward to speaking from Wisconsin where the Republican National Convention will be held this week. "In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united, and show our true character as Americans, remaining strong and determined," Trump said in a Truth Social post. It is his second post since he was shot and injured at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Earlier today in his first statement issued on the social media platform Truth Social, 78-year-old Trump also 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. Trump got injured during his election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania following a series of gunshots. He was immediately escorted out of the venue by the US Secret Service.

Suspect Was Shot And Killed By Secret Service

The former US President was reportedly shot with a bullet that pierced his ear in an attempted assassination on Saturday. The 78-year-old was evacuated from the stage of a rally in Pennsylvania after gunfire.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses present at the campaign rally reported that the shooting during Trump’s campaign rally may have originated from a one-story building with a white roof situated to the right of the stage.

The shooter was neutralised at the site by the Secret Service agents after he fired indiscriminately around 7 rounds at the rally, leaving Donald Trump injured. One attendee was killed and two others were critically injured during the firing incident. Trump said on social media that a bullet “pierced the upper part” of his right ear before agents whisked him off stage.

The shooter was later identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park in Pennsylvania. The suspect was shot and killed by the Secret Service seconds after he allegedly fired shots toward a stage where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania.

What happened at Rally 

Donald Trump, sharing details about the attack in Butler, Pennsylvania, on his Truth Social platform, said, “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” “Much bleeding took place,” he added. According to a statement by the Secret Service, the shooter was dead, one rally attendee was killed and two other spectators were injured. The incident is being investigated as an assassination attempt, the FBI has said.

Who Was Thomas Matthew Crooks

According to a local newspaper, Thomas Crooks, who the Secret Service agents killed for shooting at the former US president, had graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School. He received a Rs 500 ‘star award’ from the National Math and Science Initiative. As per the state's voter records, Crooks was a registered Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave US Dollar 15 to a progressive political action committee on January 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden was sworn into office.

The upcoming November 5 election would have been the first time Crooks had been old enough to vote in a presidential race. Crooks lived about an hour away from where the shooting took place in Butler. On Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration said it closed the airspace over Bethel Park for ‘special security reasons’.

When Crooks was 17 he made a US Dollar 15 donation to ActBlue. This political action committee raises money for left-leaning and Democratic politicians, according to a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing. The donation was earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that rallies Democrats to vote.

FBI Launches Probe

The FBI said it was working to determine a motive for the attack, in which one rally attendee died and two other spectators were critically injured. Trump was shot in the ear. The law enforcement officials said on Saturday that Crooks carried no identification to the site of the shooting and had to be identified using other methods. "We're looking at photographs right now and we're trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation," Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge, said during a press briefing.

The attack on Donald Trump at a campaign rally resulted in the tragic death of one spectator and critical injuries to two others, one of whom has since passed away. It is being said that Crooks, who did not have a prior criminal record, was found with an AR-15-type rifle near the rally venue. The investigation is ongoing, with authorities yet to determine a motive for the shooting.