Former US President Donald Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally on Saturday, causing blood to streak across his face and prompting his security agents to swarm him. Despite the chaos, Trump emerged moments later, pumping his fist in the air and mouthing the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Hours after the incident, the FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania, according to US media reports early Sunday. Crooks and one rally attendee were killed, and two other spectators were injured in the shooting, the Secret Service said in a statement.
The incident is being investigated as an assassination attempt, a source told Reuters.
President Joe Biden spoke to Trump following the incident, a White House official confirmed. Biden also communicated with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy.
Trump, 78, had just begun his speech when shots were fired. He grabbed his right ear with his hand, looked at the blood, and dropped to his knees behind the podium as Secret Service agents covered him. He reappeared about a minute later, his red “Make America Great Again” hat knocked off, saying “wait, wait” before being ushered into a vehicle.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, approximately 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Pittsburgh. “Much bleeding took place.”
