Shooting at Trump Rally Occurs During Unstable Period in American History.

Published on 14 July 2024, by Olivia Collins | NY, USA.

At 6:10 p.m., gunshots were heard. Former President Donald Trump grabbed his right ear as blood flowed, then sought cover while supporters screamed and Secret Service agents rushed to shield him.

Moments later, a shout of "shooter down" was heard, and the agents, maintaining control, began escorting Trump off the stage to safety. Trump called out, "Wait, wait, wait, wait," and defiantly pumped his fist at the crowd, shouting "Fight! Fight!" The crowd responded with chants of "USA! USA!"

For the first time in over forty years, a former U.S. president was injured in an assassination attempt when a gunman, believed to have climbed onto a nearby roof, opened fire at Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening. This act of political violence erupted during a particularly unstable moment in American history, intensifying an already heated presidential campaign.

After Secret Service snipers neutralized the shooter, Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, was taken to a nearby hospital, where his campaign declared him "fine." However, a male rally attendee was killed, and two other men were critically injured, authorities reported. The motive for the attack remains under investigation.

"I immediately knew something was wrong when I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and then felt the bullet tearing through my skin," Trump later wrote on his social media platform. "There was much bleeding, and I realized what was happening." He revealed that he was "shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear."

President Joe Biden, attending church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, at the time of the shooting, condemned the violence on television. "There’s no place in America for this kind of violence," Biden stated. "It’s sick. We must unite this country. We cannot let this happen. We cannot condone this."

Biden later contacted Trump by phone and returned to the White House. By the evening's end, Trump left the hospital and flew back to his New Jersey home from Pittsburgh airport.

The FBI identified the shooter early Sunday as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, but released no further details. Voter registration records indicated Crooks was a Republican, though he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberal group, in January 2021.

The attack occurred just two days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump is set to be nominated for president for the third time. Despite the incident, Trump's campaign confirmed his attendance. Meanwhile, Biden's campaign suspended television advertising, and Trump's supporters quickly blamed liberals, the media, and Biden for inciting hostility against Trump, leading to the attack.

While past presidents like George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama faced unsuccessful assassination attempts, Trump is the first current or former president to be wounded in an attack since Ronald Reagan in 1981. Recent years have seen a rise in threats against officials from both parties, reflecting the intense anger dominating political discourse.

Trump has been accused of inciting violence, notably on January 6, 2021, when he urged supporters to march on the Capitol, leading to its ransacking. However, left-wing violence also exists, such as the 2022 arrest of an armed man outside Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home and the 2017 shooting of a Republican leader during a baseball practice.

The Justice Department's national security division plans to investigate the shooting as an assassination attempt with national security implications.

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi stated the shooter was in an "elevated position" outside the security perimeter, avoiding event magnetometers. The gunman fired "multiple shots toward the stage" from roughly 400 feet north, with eight shots heard.

Authorities recovered an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle from the deceased shooter, a white male, at the scene. Officials declined to discuss motives, pending further investigation.

Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police stated there was "no reason to believe any other threat exists" and it was "too early" to determine if it was a lone-wolf attack.

The rally was a standard Saturday night event for Trump, who was running late and addressing border crossing statistics when shots rang out. Local conservative activist Corey Check and Republican committeeman Nathan Rybner, sitting near Trump, heard what they initially thought were firecrackers. Eduardo Vargas, seated close to Trump, saw blood on Trump's forehead minutes after the first shot.

Amidst the chaos, the Secret Service instructed the crowd to "Get down!" Vargas and many others started crying, fearing the worst. Theresa Koshut, a teacher familiar with active-shooter drills, instinctively took cover.

Agents shielded Trump onstage, trying to move him to safety. Trump, initially shocked, insisted on retrieving his shoes before being escorted away. He managed a fist pump to rally the crowd before leaving.

The shooting occurred as Trump was leading Biden in polls, both nationally and in battleground states like Pennsylvania. Biden, facing pressure from within his party to step aside after a recent debate performance, criticized Trump’s opposition to gun control just hours before the attack.

The upcoming convention in Milwaukee will likely be electrified by the incident, heightening both political and security concerns. Trump's campaign adviser Chris LaCivita and other supporters quickly blamed left-wing rhetoric for the attack, while conservative figures like Elon Musk and Bill Ackman endorsed Trump, criticizing the Secret Service.

In contrast, Democratic leaders condemned the violence without attributing blame, expressing relief at Trump’s survival and concern about the rise in political violence. Notable Democrats like Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, herself a victim of political violence, denounced the attack and called for unity.