Former President Donald J. Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally on Saturday, an incident that has highlighted significant security lapses and raised
concerns about potential political violence in this year’s presidential race.
Trump was quickly surrounded and covered by his security agents moments after the shooting. Emerging shortly after, his face streaked with blood, Trump pumped his fist in the air and mouthed the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
The FBI identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the “subject involved” in what they termed an attempted assassination in a statement early on Sunday. The Secret Service confirmed that the shooter was dead, one rally attendee was killed, and two other spectators were injured. Law enforcement officials have not yet identified a motive for the attack.
Trump, 78, had just begun his speech when the shots rang out. He grabbed his right ear, examined his bloodied hand, and then dropped to his knees behind the podium before Secret Service agents shielded him. He reemerged about a minute later, his red “Make America Great Again” hat knocked off, and could be heard saying “wait, wait,” before pumping his fist in the air. Agents then rushed him to a black SUV.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump later said on his Truth Social platform following the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. “Much bleeding took place.”
The Trump campaign reported that he was “doing well.” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro stated that Trump left the Butler area under the protection of the U.S. Secret Service with the assistance of the Pennsylvania State Police.
The shooting occurred less than four months before the November 5 election, in which Trump faces a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden. Most opinion polls, including those by Reuters/Ipsos, show the two candidates locked in a close contest. Photo by Pacific Southwest Region 5, Wikimedia commons.